Forgotten
by Ice Lynx
Summary: Installment 4 of the Stephverse! Steph Logan McCoy finds herself stranded alone in England, seperated from her new family and suddenly without her memory. With the help of a new, slightly shady friend Steph sets out to reclaim and remember her life.
1. Invitation to England

Hey everybody!!! Icey here, this time solo! That's right, my first Steph story completely by me! shivers Which was a little nerve wracking without Tam's idea's... luv her people, but we have more work together comin'!

Wow, this is so cool, I'm putting in another installment of the Stephverse! Anyway, first the info, then the chapter, then you get to leave a review!

Title; Forgotten

Author; Ice Lynx ((Hey, that's just like my name!))

Disclaimer; Marvel owns everyone a stranger to my Stephverse doesn't recognize. But the plot is mine too.

Genre; Drama

Rating; PG-13 to be on the safe side.

Summary; Installment #4 of the Stephverse! Steph Logan McCoy finds herself stranded alone in England, seperated from her new family and suddenly without her memory! With the help of a new, slightly shady friend Steph sets out to reclaim and remember her life as an X Man.

Thanks; giveGodtheGlory accourse! She's great, helped me start this verse ((couldn't have gotten a first page without her)) and she even proof-read this story, so hopefully there aren't as many gramatic and spelling mistakes, lol! Luv ya Tam!

And of course to everyone who enjoys reading this story. You make writing fun! ((So cliche I know, heh!))

Chapter 1

Steph stared at the letter that she held firmly in one dark, slender hand while the other held her baby, Sam. Brown eyes gazed at the letters again, then she smiled at her small orange-haired daughter as the babe grinned back with pointy teeth, yawning widely before snuggling into Steph's chest.

"Mam," she said.

"Yeah, that's m' name," Steph smiled, putting the letter in her pocket and holding the tiny girl with both arms, her own orange hair as vibrant as the child's though Sam's skin was much lighter than her own. Probably because Hank's used to be too, before he sprouted his blue fur.

"Mam, aba a da gook," Sam said sleepily.

"She sayin' she wanna see her daddy," said Ruhko, who had appeared at Steph's side. Steph smiled at her much younger sister, now almost seven, who grinned at her.

"Thanks for the help Ruk," she said. Ruhko grinned.

"She don't look much like you," she said, peering at the baby. Steph smiled.

"She has her daddy's face," she said. "Built like him too." It was true, though certainly going to be tall, Samantha was built stockier and more compact than Steph, a little tank as Kurt laughingly referred to her when she plowed straight through things as she learned to crawl. Steph was not un-seeable in the babe's face though, she and her daughter shared the same eyes and the mane of bright hair that Steph was proud of, and Sam seemed proud too, growling at Ruhko when she tried to pull at it.

Steph walked into the medlab with Ruhko still trailing her, finding her husband and Bobby tossing a football to each other. Bobby caught the ball as Hank saw his family walk through and immediately came over, kissing Steph on the cheek as Sam woke up and laughed when her father tossed her high in the air.

"You're gonna break something with that ball," Steph teased as Hank lowered Sam to his chest and smiled as she grabbed his glasses and looked them over curiously as Ruhko chased after Bobby, who handed the ball to her, grinning.

"Perhaps, but Bobby has gotten better at throwing, so I do not worry as much," he said, smiling.

"Hey, if you could catch the ball..." Bobby replied, grinning. "Hey Steph," he nodded at Steph, who smiled back.

"G' morning," she replied. Then she pulled the letter out of her pocket and showed it to Hank. "I got this today," she said.

"What is it?" Hank asked.

"A request," Steph smiled. "From a university in England. They've asked me to give a lecture about M.A." Hank smiled and nodded as Ruhko's eyes widened.

"England?" she repeated. "That's a million miles 'way though, Teffie!" Steph smiled at the nickname and shrugged.

"Maybe," she said.

"So Mutant Awareness is becoming more recognized?" Hank said, scanning over the sheet. "Wonderful." Steph chuckled and thought about the program she had started two years before, raising awareness of how mutants were being treated all over the globe and informing both humans and mutants about how mutants showed up, also talking about Xavier's Institute and helping raise money for a few other schools similar to the mansion they lived in now to get founded. Almost the entire population at Xavier's School had already helped with the project and a few, mostly Steph's immediate family, were working on it as hard as she was.

"Wow, that's a big step isn't it, an overseas school _asking_ you to come and speak?" Bobby asked, walking over and looking at the letter while Ruhko hit the table with the football, seeing if she could break it. Steph beamed.

"Yes, it is, an' maybe other school's will start there, that would help students like Elizabeth, being able t' go to a school in her native country," she said, thinking of the small girl who's parents had heard of M.A. and contacted the Professor to see if their own mutant daughter could receive help controlling her powers. It was hard for Elizabeth to come to the school in a foreign country and fly back and fourth to her parents in England.

"This is very exciting," Hank said again, hugging Steph. "When did they wish you to visit?" Steph took the letter from him.

"Next week, I'm gonna have to put some travel plans together, the professor's headed to a conference in Washington then," she said. "I'll only be gone a few days, think you can manage Sam?" she kidded. Hank smiled.

"I feel I am an adequate parent," he said, arching an eyebrow. "Unless you fear I am not?" Steph laughed quietly and pointed at Sam, who had fallen asleep in his arms.

"You're perfect, loads more than _adequate_," she said. "Besides, Sam likes you better, you let her have more Twinkies than I'd ever allow." Hank shrugged, smiling as Ruhko looked up, a hungry glint in her eyes as she heard one of her favorite foods being mentioned.

"Twinkie?" she said hopefully. At a nod from Hank Bobby walked over to a drawer and pulled out a package of Twinkies, giving it to Ruhko, who snatched it greedily.

"I fear Sam likes the other type of treat though," he said, looking over at Bobby. "When young Bobby gave her a- what was it?"

"Swissroll," Bobby confirmed, grinning as he picked up and tossed the football into the air and caught it again.

"Ah, yes, a Swissroll," Hank continued, "She became much more partial to them."

"All Hostess junk food," Steph said, shrugging and stroking Sam's back.

"Yes," Hank nodded. "Though she seems to keep a place in her young heart for Twinkies still, of which I am glad."

"Like father, like daughter I suppose, in any case, you still have Bobby an' Ruhko," Steph said, chuckling and then sighing. "I'd better go call Kurt an' tell the professor, they'll get offended if I don't let them know soon, though it would be interesting if Chuck hasn't already found out."

"Of course," Hank said, nodding. "I will watch Sam, you should alert all those involved with the M.A." Steph nodded and kissed him on the cheek and moved a strand of curly orange hair from her daughter's round face.

"I'd better tell Elizabeth too," she said thoughtfully. "Poor girl's been wanting to see her parents worse then ever for the last week, I'll take her over to them."

"Congratulations," Hank said, as Steph blew him another kiss and hurried out of the room.

- - -

"Have you everything you need?" Hank asked, putting the bags in the back seat of the car. Steph smiled at him.

"Accourse," she said, grinning as she looked at Sam.

"Mam?" the infant said, large brown eyes fixed on her mother. Steph hugged her.

"See you in a week baby," she said. Sam blinked and murmured unintelligibly.

"Ya goin' overseas now?" Ruhko asked as Steph handed Sam to Hank. Steph nodded.

"Yup," she said. Ruhko grinned. Bucky's eyes widened slightly.

"An ocean!" she said excitedly.

"Teffie's flyin' over a big lake, nuthin' special," Ruhko said, shaking her head at her sister.

"Well you've never done it," Steph said, ruffling Ruhko's hair affectionately. "Stay out of trouble, Ruk." Bobby chuckled.

"With _you_ for an influence?" he said. Steph stuck her tongue out at him.

"I love ya too, brother," she said.

"Oh, tell me all about it, like, right after you get back," Jubilee said excitedly.

"Accourse," Steph said, checking her watch. "Got all your things Elizabeth?"

"Yes," the timid girl said quietly, hugging her favorite doll to her small chest and waiting patiently, her eyes glittering orange beneath black curls,

"Good," Steph said. Then she hugged and kissed Hank and Sam again. "Be good for daddy, Sam, an' _you_, no Twinkies after five, or ya can kiss your sleep good-bye," she said playfully patting Hank's cheek. He grinned.

"Take care of yourself, sweet Stephanie," he said. "And do not fear, Sam will be watched closely night and day."

"By someone else," Bobby joked. Hank chuckled.

"Knock 'em dead," Jubilee said as Steph got into the car, rolling down the window as Elizabeth got into the passenger seat and buckled herself in.

"Please, it's only a lecture," Steph said. "I'm not leaving for years, jus' a week. Take care, all of you." Starting the car she and Elizabeth waved, then drove down the driveway, their last farewell a screech from Ruhko.

"BRING M' BACK PRESENTS!!!"

Steph looked around the airport, then at her flight information and the map, holding Elizabeth's hand.

"Our flight should be down the hall a bit," she said as other travelers bustled past. Elizabeth looked around, nervous about being around so many people and nervously pushing her dark sunglasses up. Steph smiled at her. "Don't worry," she whispered as she led the girl down the large hall. Eventually they reached their gate and found the passengers already boarding.

Quickly Steph handed the flight attendant both mutant's passports and plane tickets, only to have the flight attendant's eyes widen.

"You're Stephanie McCoy?" she said. Steph looked up from fiddling with her purse and Elizabeth backed up behind her slightly. Steph looked at the young girl.

"Yeah, do I know you?" she said. The flight attendant smiled.

"No, but I went to one of the lectures you gave up in Vermont, I thought it was really great," she said. Steph looked surprised, then smiled.

"Why thank you, Brittany," she said, spotting the attendant's badge. Brittany smiled.

"You going for a vacation?" she asked. Steph shook her head.

"Another lecture," she said. Brittany grinned and handed her the passports back.

"Well, good luck, and have a great trip," she said.

"Thank you," Steph said, taking the items and then directing Elizabeth down the ramp and onto the plane. As they took their seats Elizabeth looked up at Steph.

"Do you give lots of speeches?" she asked. Steph smiled.

"A few, it still surprises me when people remember my face or name though, I'm by no means famous," she said.

"But you were on TV once, weren't you?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah," Steph said, smiling. "A long time ago, when I was still a teenager. I saved the President and got embarrassed by a speech on national news for a reward, but it did let me know I could handle most anything in front of a camera," she laughed and Elizabeth smiled shyly.

"Will you get on national TV in England?" she asked. Steph shook her head.

"I don't know, I doubt it, but anything's possible," she said. Elizabeth looked out the small plane window and sighed, leaning on her doll.

"I could never go on TV, I'd be too frightened," she said. Steph smiled and took out a small pillow from her bag, giving it to the girl.

"Well, maybe someday that'll be different," she said. "But you don't ever have to do something like that unless you want to."

"I don't," Elizabeth said softly, laying her head on the pillow. Soon the child was fast asleep, and Steph put a blanket over her and took out a book, thinking about Sam and Hank and their food differences, and chuckling as she also drifted off.

"-Thank you for choosing Delta," a slightly crackly voice woke Steph form her doze, and she looked down and saw that Elizabeth was yawning, clutching her doll tight as the plane descended. As they hit the ground the plane jumped slightly, and Elizabeth grabbed Steph's arm nervously.

"It's alright," Steph assured her.

"The Blackbird doesn't bounce," the small girl said nervously. Steph chuckled.

"The Blackbird's one of a kind, but these old things can't go wrong. See? We've made it alright, are all your things together?" Elizabeth nodded and grabbed her small pink backpack as Steph got her computer case. When the plane came into its dock she stood up and stretched as they waited for the other bustling passengers to leave room for them.

"Where are mum and dad?" Elizabeth wondered, peering about as they walked into the terminal. Steph saw the parents rushing over, smiling from ear to ear.

"Right there," she said, pointing at them.

"Mummy!" Elizabeth cried, letting go of Steph's hand and running.

"Oh, my baby," her mother said, picking her up into a giant hug. The father laughed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Good," Elizabeth said. The two adults turned to Steph.

"Thank you so much for accompanying her," Elizabeth's mother said. "We know it can't be easy-"

"Oh, it's no problem," Steph said, shaking her head. "I needed to come to England anyway, I'm giving a lecture at a university."

"Well, good luck with that," Elizabeth's father said. "And thank you again, you're going back next Thursday?"

"Yes, on the 8:15 flight," Steph said, looking at her ticket again. She smiled at the now beaming Elizabeth. "Have a fun week you, I'll see you later, alright?"

"Goodbye Mrs. McCoy," Elizabeth said as her parents smiled and turned, walking away and talking to Elizabeth. Steph watched them leave, still smiling and thinking about Sam again and reaching into her purse, in her wallet a small family portrait was always carried. It had been taking a few weeks after Sam was born and she was in Steph's arms, Hank behind her with his arms around her middle, both of the adults smiling at the camera. Steph sighed and reminded herself, only a week, but it would be a long one.

-----

"Alright, alright, so it's settled, the plan goes forth?" A man with very wolf-like features looked around, his features shadowed but slightly visible, unlike the rest in the dark room, who were completely hidden.

"Yes, and as soon as we inform the others there'll be no going back, understood?" Said another. "Unanimous agreement".

"But what about the casualties? There will be many," said one afterwards. The wolf man shrugged.

"Everyone knows the risks, they have taken their oaths and helped us prepare, we are ready to loose many, as long as _they_ recognize us," he said. "The war will bring more casualties, but we will win. They, after all, are only human."

"Fine, Monday it is."


	2. The Lecture

Thank ya very much Jinxeh, I'm glad you like these stories!

Here's chappie two!

Ice Lynx

-

Steph took a deep breath as the Headmaster introduced her up at the microphone, his silver hair gleaming in the bright lights on the stage. Steph walked out in her X Man uniform as she always did, the black tights and top outlined with orange, a large silver X on her belt and both gloves, her black trench coat sweeping out behind her as she smiled at the sea of young faces, all of them looking curious, some amused and a few, as usual, disgusted. It was to be expected, and it didn't bother Steph at all.

"Thank you very much," she said to the Headmaster, who was smiling off to the side of the stage. Then she addressed the crowd. "And thank you for coming, each and every one of you, I hope that by the end of the hour you will not feel that it was wasted." Blinking once and trying to release the nervous knot in her stomach Steph began.

-

The wolf man watched as the woman walked up on stage. He was busy in the shadows in back of the room, but he paused. It was obvious this woman was mutant-kind, but the uniform she wore did not reveal her powers.

He had seen that signature X before; he knew what kind of people would possibly come to avenge the death of a teammate.

They had to be careful, but as the Members had earlier stated in the meeting, there was no turning back now.

He finished setting the explosives, and before any of the students realized he had been slinking around behind them he was gone as the woman on stage started a slideshow of some kind.

-

"-It; is quite possible, actually more than likely, that there are a few mutants in this University," Steph said, watching as a hushed murmur went through the crowds. She saw eyes dart around, other's roll, and a few glares. All of it exactly like every other time she said these words, so she continued.

"It may be possible that a mutation will cause physical changes, such as the skin, eyes, hair, or even limbs of a person changing, they could sprout fur or gain a tail, or at times, transform into different shapes altogether," Steph thought about her friends as she listed some of the mutations she had seen before. "Other mutations are not as evident, such as the ability to read thoughts, control elements, the ability to fly, or enhanced senses. The inability to see these mutations makes identifying mutants difficult, because other than a special power or powers, even the visible ones, mutants are regular humans." A hand in the crowd went up, and when Steph nodded a lean girl with dark hair and eyes stood.

"But mutants aren't human," she said. Steph nodded.

"It is true that mutants are slightly different than the average human, with powers or looks," she said. "But these traits are like a person who is incredibly smart. If they had no genetic mutation, would he, for his intellect, be labeled non-human?"

"But that's different," the girl said. Steph smiled.

"How?" she asked.

"Well-" the girl paused, thinking. "His DNA remains 100 human, but mutants have the X factor, which is what causes the mutations."

"True," Steph said. The girl took a breath and spoke again.

"Besides, mutants look different," she said. Steph arched an eyebrow as she pressed a button, and behind her the slideshow screen flashed with the faces of twelve men and women, all looking straight at the audience. Steph motioned towards them. "I have talked to all twelve of these people, and with the help of a few experts, gave all twelve the same exact questions, reading situations to them and asking what their responses would be. All twelve answered the same way, and when asked how they felt about different things, they again answered the same.

"All twelve of these people are healthy, still living today the normal life of an average person, trying to make it in the world. They work, eat, sleep, move, an' they all have emotions, a few have children, and all are in relationships. There is only one difference, three of them have the X factor," Steph paused. "One can control electricity, channeling it into whatever they want. Another can read minds, the last can grow claws and fangs at will. Now, can anyone in this room point out these three individuals?"

Hands rose in the air, and Steph had a few of the students guess. After a moment she raised a hand, then hit the next slide. There was a moment of the shocked silence and Steph gestured to the three faces left up on the screen.

"As you can see, no one guessed any of these three," she said. The black haired girl blinked and Steph looked around. "None of you guessed, because you couldn't tell, could you? The women and the man looked completely normal, yet she can control electricity, he can grow fangs, and she can tell you what you're thinking about. And if you were to see me walking down the street, how many of you would think 'oh, that woman is definitely a mutant'?"

"What can you do?" a boy asked, raising his hand. "If you're a mutant, what are your powers?" Steph smiled.

"I have the ability to fly, an' before I learned to control it, my voice was a very, very bad thing to hear," she said. There were some more whispers as Steph waited for the request, which came almost immediately from another girl in the audience.

"Could you show us?"

"I cannot give you a vocal demonstration," Steph said, "But I can do this." With that she started to hover off the floor, watching amused as eyebrows shot up and gasps echoed around, the muttering intensifying as Steph drifted a bit further down the stage. The Headmaster was watching, and amused expression on his face as Steph landed again.

"How many of you thought I could do that?" she asked. No hands rose.

"How can you control your voice now if you couldn't before?" One boy near the front asked.

"Good question," Steph said. "It took me a long time to learn to control my mutation after it surfaced, luckily I was found by Charles Xavier a few years after I had t' resort to becoming a mute. With day and night help and careful practice I eventually learned to control my mutation, like many others who were self trained or found help at the Institute. That's why places like Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters are so important, an' should be available for all mutants around the world."

"And the American government allows this institute?" Another student asked.

"The school was the first of its kind," Steph said. "So it, and the mutants who live their, including myself, must constantly deal with suspicion and hate from everyone around us, though we have helped out country many times in the past and continue to do so. Such hate and fear, however, can drive many mutants to do the opposite, which is where the stereotypical 'evil genetic freak' propaganda comes from."

"Has anyone ever tried to kill you?"

"Ahem, I do not believe that is an appropriate question," said the Headmaster, coming forth for the first time. He looked at Steph. "It is your choice whether or not to answer that, Mrs. McCoy." Steph smiled.

"Many times," she said, nodding at the student.

"By humans?"

"And mutants as well. For some, the intolerance has set in so deep they believe a war is coming between mutants and humans, which, if intolerance and hate from both mutants and humans continues to grow, may be the unfortunate case. People like me, and Professor Xavier, and many, many humans, feel that this 'war' will only come if the facts about mutants remain hidden, allowing misguided thoughts an' ideas to take root, like that mutation-" Steph was cut off by an explosion coming from right behind her, hitting her in the back and sending her crashing forward as other explosions and screams echoed.

Steph groaned, holding her arm as one boy helped her up, the rest of the students had started screaming and running for the exits, but cut off after explosion after explosion went off. Steph looked around, her heart racing as she finally looked up, and saw the roof crumble and give way.

Time seemed to slow as Steph watch, motionless, as the heavy beams fell towards her. The faces of her family raced through her mind as the stunned question overlapped them. What was going on?


	3. Dead or Forgotten?

She opened her eyes blearily, nothing coming in focus for a moment. Slowly she realized she was on her side, and when she tried to get up, she found that there was wood, sheetrock, plaster, and other building materials weighing her down. Her heart contracted and impulsively she rolled over on her side, and to her amazement a bunch of the rubble rolled off, though more was overhead, like an impenetrable canopy. Her arm seemed to catch fire as it was jostled, a fierce pain ripping through it that made her gasp and cringe.

It was dark, so dark she could barely see anything, but she crawled forward, feeling with her hands as she made her way forward, quite frequently things falling on her, the air so thick with dust she had to stop crawling sometimes, coughing violently as she tried to ignore the pain in her arm.

Ahead of her she suddenly saw a small beam of light, faint as if it were night out. Unconsciously she started to fly, off the ground towards the light, finding a hole just barely big enough for her to squeeze out of ahead of her.

Head hammering she managed to pull herself out, crying out as her arm was jostled. But then she was free, flying above what appeared to be a wrecked building in the moonlight, the pale stars above her looking dull somehow. She pulled off her jacket in midair, finding herself unsurprised that she could fly, then looked at the coat curiously. Why would she be wearing a coat when it was so warm out?

Suddenly an even worse question hit her. Where was she? _Who_ was she?

She started searching the pockets frantically, looking for any clues to who she might be. A wallet fell out, and she snatched it with her injured arm before she remembered it, and again the pain was so bad she failed to muffle a cry. But by the dim light of the glowing orb above her, she found what appeared to be a driver's license. The name read "Steph Logan McCoy" and there was a picture by it of a young woman. Was this her? Was she Steph? Must be, if she had the wallet. She could check later for the picture to match.

Suddenly a beam of light shot out of the dark.

"Hello?" called a voice. Steph ducked low and then slowly floated around a pile of debris, then shot down low again, all instincts telling her to remain hidden. Beyond her hiding place there seemed to be a virtual army of flashing lights and shapes cautiously moving around them, at the edge of the ruined building Steph had crawled out of.

Steph gritted her teeth, putting the coat back on and the wallet in the pocket again, then held her injured arm close and shot off, just skimming the wreckage. She didn't want to be caught by whoever was in front of those flashing lights, she didn't know anything right then except that. Right then she had to find someplace, anyplace, to hide.

Steph landed as she reached a street a few miles from where she had woken up, looking around. She recognized nothing, but to her surprise there was no one on the roads at all. She was obviously in a city, shouldn't there be people out, even at night? Ahead of her she saw the only signs of life since the flashing light men, what looked like a bar.

Steph walked closer and then turned away, it looked sketchy at best, she'd find someplace else... when three men rounded the corner down the road, flashlights in their hands and, glittering in the moonlight, guns and clubs at their waists. Steph immediately ducked into an alley, listening as the men walked past, talking in low voices.

"It's not right, keeping the city under curfew," one said.

"It's not right mutants killing the Prime Minister, or the mutants bombing every major government establishment in England," another replied.

"I heard they hit America too," said the third. Steph pressed closer to the wall. If she was a mutant, judging from the tones of these men they wouldn't be too happy if they found her, plus their talk of a curfew told her she was probably out past it, offence enough for a human. It didn't surprise her she had no clue what the men were talking about, it she couldn't remember who she was how would memories of matters like bombings stay in tact?

As soon as she was sure the men had left Steph hurried out of the alley and pulled on the bar's door, surprised to find it open.

As she walked in the heavy smell of smoke and alcohol hit her, making her slightly dizzy and her forehead sting slightly.

"Hey lady, you get mugged?" said a voice. Steph pulled her coat around her tightly and looked up, seeing the few men in the bar looking at her curiously. The bartender spoke again. "Are you alright? Are you still bleeding miss?" Steph's mouth opened.

"Do ya- do ya have a bathroom?" she finally said. The bartender nodded, not taking his eyes off her as he pointed towards the back.

"Second door on your left, you sure you don't need to go to the doctor?" he said. Another man chortled.

"Wouldn't fit her in, too many casualties today," he said, sipping his beer. Steph lowered her head and hurried to the restroom, hearing the word "American" behind her as she found the dingy bathroom and walked in, shutting the door behind her and letting out a long breath she wasn't aware she had been holding. Then she found herself looking in the mirror, and gasped.

The face was that of Steph Logan McCoy, she must be her, it made sense if she shared the portrait and the wallet. But that's not what drew her attention. Running across her forehead was a large gash, blood from it mostly dried and spread across her face, some fresh blood still glinting dull. Steph raised a hand to the wound with her good arm, then quickly turned on the tap and found a towel, carefully wiping away the dried blood.

She looked at herself again, her brown eyes and shocking orange hair, wondering how these features seemed familiar to her but were still so alien.

But now the lights were making her dizzy, and her head was hammering worse than ever while her arm ached. The men in the bar were right, she needed some medical attention.

Walking out she carefully nodded to the bartender.

"Thank ya," she said in a small voice, reaching the door before the bar tender stopped her.

"Wait miss, don't you know about the curfew?" he said. Steph stopped and looked at him. "Just imposed a few hours ago, no one's allowed outside after eight, even with your head like that they'll still throw you into jail."

"Why?" Steph asked.

"Because," the man that had spoken earlier said. "Mutants attacked today, us and your own country. You'll be lucky if you can get home any time soon, miss, they've put all of England in a lock down, the mutants responsible are still bombing places, last I heard."

"I'm in England?" Steph said. Of course, that would explain the accents, and her obvious lack of one. The men stared at her.

"You were hit bad by something," the bartender said. "Are you sure you're alright? Do you need anything?" Steph shook her head, regretting it as her head thumped worse.

"I- no, can I stay here then?" she asked, not wanting to end up jailed when she had no idea who she really was. The bartender nodded.

"We're all stuck here for tonight," he said. "Sit down, you want a coffee?" Steph nodded dumbly and sat in a booth in a corner, a moment later the bartender put a cup in front of her.

"Thank ya," she said, looking at the cup.

"If you need anything else, ask," the bartender said kindly, eyes lingering on her cut before he straightened and left. Steph wondered what she was going to do, stuck here in this awful bar. The men didn't look like too much trouble, but the place scared her, her situation scared her. She may live somewhere in America, but where? Did she have any family? How would she get back if the country she was in, England, was in a lockdown?

Sudden frustration hit her and before she knew it a tear had fallen down her cheek, Hunkering down in the booth as another fell, Steph bowed her head, letting her hair hide her face. This was all wrong, and she knew it. Something big had happened, something to do with the collapsed building where she had woken up, but with no memory, how could she hope for any of it to become any clearer?

"Hank! Hank! Oh my god, Hank where are you?" Jubilee raced down the hall and beat on Hank's door, greeted a moment later by the blue bare-chested man himself, who was yawning.

"My dear Jubilee, you must quite less you wish to wake Sam," he said sleepily. Then he saw the young woman's face. "Why, what has happened?" Jubilee looked ready to cry.

"It's Steph, and the professor," she said. Hank's eyes narrowed.

"What happened, are they alright?" he said. Jubilee shook her head.

"Somethin' happened, like, a whole bunch of attacks all over the capital, an' now they won't let the professor leave," Jubilee said, biting her lip. "And not just here, over in England too, the news said they hit the place Steph was given her speech-" Hank went pale and he hurried back into his room, grabbing the phone, his large back trembling as he dialed the number of Steph's cell phone quickly, almost breaking the phone in his death grip as he waited for her to answer. -_Surely nothing has happened to her-_ he told himself-_she'll pick up her phone and assure me she's quite alright... pick up Stephanie, please...-_

"Bobby already tried that, hasn't stopped trying either," Jubilee said softly from the door. Hank really did crush the phone at these words, loosing his breath as Sam woke up in her crib near the bed, crying. Automatically Hank walked over and picked his child up, holding her close to comfort her while she snuggled in, quieting quickly.

"Is it still on the news?" he said in a quiet voice.

"Are you joking?" Jubilee said, her eyes wide. "I dunno about the part about Steph- but the rest-" she was cut off as Hank hurried out of the room, and she followed quickly behind.

Down in the recreational room all of the adults had gathered, watching the news in a grim, disbelieving silence as it alternated between pale reporters talking quickly as more recent information came in, then pictures of different collapsed buildings. Everyone turned and looked at Hank as he entered, stopping and staring at the television screen, his jaw slightly hanging open. Sam was looking about cautiously, aware something was amiss but not quite sure of what she huddled in closer to Hank.

"Hank-" Bobby said, getting up, his usually amused face pale, like the others. Hank noticed Scott pacing in the corner with a phone up to his ear, trying to reach the professor. The man stopped when he saw Hank, his face gaunt with worry.

"Wait," Jubilee said softly, and all eyes snapped back to the television with a wreckage of a building on it. The camera was in a helicopter, swinging around as tentative search crews poured over it, the reporter speaking.

"...Was hit, the highly acclaimed University was holding a lecture, given by the becoming well-known mutant activist Steph Logan McCoy." A picture of Steph appeared in the corner of the screen. "More than five hundred students were at the meeting when bombs around the outer wall went off, imploding the entire structure. Still no word of how many are alive as sources report the rescuers are still working, twenty bodies have been recovered so far. McCoy is still missing, though presumed dead." The screen went back to the hassled looking reporter. "We are told England had shut down completely until the mutants responsible are apprehended-"

The X Men stared at the screen, not one of them hearing anything else, until all eyes swept over to Hank. Scott had dropped the phone, his face unreadable as he stared at Hank for some kind of reaction. The blue man looked ready to collapse, blinking rapidly as he sat heavily in an armchair, hands holding Sam to him so tightly she started to whimper.

Jubilee sniffed and buried her head in her hands, and Bobby put a hand on her shoulder, unable to look at Hank, who's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again.

"I'm going- she didn't-" he said, shaking his head and closing his eyes. "I'll go, I'll find her-"

"Hank," Scott said carefully, looking greatly troubled and pained as he spoke, "They said England is not allowing anyone to get in-" he stopped as Hank went slack and fell backwards, staring at the television, his eyes wide as his throat tightened.

"Steph," he whispered, his eyes filling with tears.


	4. Found

Hank sat on the couch, still watching the television though the news was unchanging. No news on any survivors from the destroyed buildings, the UN was in an uproar, including the US, who, though finding it impossible to shut down, was not allowing any American to travel anywhere, and all foreign visitors were being located and tested for being mutantcy. All humans were immediately shipped back to their country of origin under heavy guard and all mutants were taken to a detention center for questioning. The only new news seemed to be that a British-based mutant group calling themselves the 'Members' were taking responsibility.

But none of the mattered to Hank in the slightest way, he was waiting for news of Steph, any news, if she was found and in a hospital somewhere, if she was still trapped. He couldn't even bring himself to think she was dead, she couldn't be.

Upstairs he could hear Scott still pacing, not having stopped moving at all since Xavier told them he was not going to be able to return to the mansion for awhile and that the Blackbird had been taken to make sure no illegal flights across the sea were made, ruining anyone's plans of going after Steph. Kurt had called and said he was going to London as soon as possible to search, and Kitty was going to accompany him. But the line had disconnected them before they could discuss getting Steph home.

Hank stroked his daughter's hair where she slept on his chest, clinging to him for warmth and security, his throat tightening and a tear leaking down the side of his face. He couldn't conceive the thought of being an only parent, of Sam perhaps never remembering Steph. He had to banish those thoughts from his mind. Steph had to be found, she would be.

After a while Steph slowly pulled out the wallet again, flipping it open and looking through it. There were a few credit cards, but nothing really interesting to her.

Then she pulled a small photo from the back. She was in it, in a white dress and holding something in her arms. Looking closer through the smoky room Steph was shocked to see it was a baby. There was a man behind her, a large, furry blue man who was smiling and revealing sharp teeth. Steph could see that his hands were around her waist.

Who was he? Who was the baby?

Steph felt light headed as a thought came to mind, perhaps this was a family photo? Could she be related at all to these two?

She looked up as she heard a sharp clap as the door opened and then snapped shut and caught a glimpse of a tall, brown-haired man in dark sunglasses and a brown trench coat before he dived under a table near her booth. A few minutes later two policemen burst in, looking out of breath as the men in the bar looked up.

"Did a tall bloke just run in here" asked one of the police.

The bartender shook his head. "Nope, we've all been in here since the curfew landed" he said. "I wouldn't allow any law-breakers in here."

The police looked around, but no one said anything about the man hiding under the table not five feet from the door.

"Sorry you all got stuck here" said the talkative policeman. He looked over at Steph and paused a moment, looking ready to say something before his partner shook his head.

"Come on" he said. "The man's broken curfew, we've got to catch him."

The first officer nodded and they turned, shutting the door as they raced out.

After a moment the man who had narrowly escaped being caught crawled out, standing and brushing off his knees as he smiled at the bartender.

"My t'anks" he said in a heavily accented voice. Steph watched him out of the corner of her eye.

"Don't let it happen again. The government is serious about upholding the curfew right now" was the reply.

The man looked around and suddenly noticed Steph, his smile widening as he strode up.

"Do I know you from somewhere chere" he asked.

Steph blinked, surprised that he might have recognized her face.

"I…couldn't tell ya" she said slowly, looking down at her coffee and stuffing her wallet back into her pocket.

"Nah, guess y' couldn't" he said, sitting down across from her. "But you're dat speaker, right? De petite from New York, Steph McCoy"

Steph's heart leapt as she straightened in her seat. "Ya know who I am"

"Mos' muties in de US do chere" he said. "Remy, Remy LeBeau." He offered his hand, and to Steph's surprise when she held hers out he took it and kissed it instead of shaking it. A few of the men in the bar noticed as well, watching the newcomer intently.

"Ya…why would mutants know me" Steph asked, confused as she jerkily pulled her hand away.

Remy looked mildly surprised, though his smile didn't falter.

"Chere, you talk 'bout muties n' humans gettin' along, 'n you help schools for muties t' get started. Not t' mention you ain't dat hard on de eyes." He chuckled and took off his sunglasses, and for a moment Steph was slightly taken aback by the red on black eyes that stared back at her. "You're prob'ly gettin' more attention den you know."

"I…I speak out f'r mutants" Steph said, head whirling. Was she actually someone important?

Remy was looking at her curiously now, his eyes traveling over her forehead as he moved over to sit next to her and turned her head with his hand to get a better look.

"Is dere somet'in wrong petite" he asked.

Steph was still slightly jumpy as she stared into his unusual eyes. "I...no...I mean" she said.

Then she sighed. "I have...no clue, no clue 'bout who I am, 'cept a name…."

Remy's eyebrows shot up. "Did somet'in happen t' ya"

Steph shrugged.

"I woke up in a collapsed building or somethin' n' came here. I don't remember anything... but I found a wallet with the name Steph Logan McCoy and figured I was her. Guess I am"

Remy nodded, still looking unsure as the bartender spoke up, having overheard part of the conversation.

"Begging your pardon, Miss, you're the young lady from America they're looking for, from over where the university was bombed" he asked, looking pale. The other man at the counter looked over.

"No" Remy said suddenly, still looking at Steph, who's mouth had gone dry. "We were talkin' 'bout 'ow much she looks like dat woman."

The bartender nodded and went back to his business slowly while Steph frowned.

"Why'd ya tell him that" she asked in a low voice.

Remy shook his head. "I wouldn' trust nobody in dis place, no matter how nice dey act" he replied in a lower voice, which Steph just barely heard over the music in the bar.

She was uncertain of his reasoning and his presence, but didn't show it as she picked up her untouched coffee and took a sip, only to find that it had already gone cold.

Remy watched her for a moment, then got up and returned a bit later with a beer in his hand, smiling again.

"Well, den how you t'inking you'll get home" he asked.

Steph's eyes narrowed slightly. What was so funny?

"What d'ya mean" she asked.

Remy shook his head. "If you don' know what 'appened, you don' know dat dere is no way t' get outta England right now. Dey shut down all de airlines n' boats; lookin' for de mutants who bombed every big building in de country, including de one you were in, 'parently."

Steph shook her head gingerly. "N' yer smiling' at me why then"

Remy shrugged. "You'll need a place t' sleep till you can get home. You wanna stay wit me"

Steph stared at him, her mouth hanging open slightly before he suddenly leaned forward and kissed her. For a moment Steph found herself reciprocating, but suddenly in front of her she saw not Remy, but a larger face with dark eyes and dark blue fur covering it, glasses set on a broad nose.

For a moment she was so startled that she froze, then turned her head sharply, breaking contact with Remy as her head painfully twinged from the sudden motion.

"Chere" Remy said.

Steph ignored him, eyes closed tightly as she tried to remember the face. It was the same as the man in the picture. She looked down at her hand and suddenly saw a gold ring with three diamonds set in the metal on her right ring finger, the jewels sparkling even in the dim light.

Remy noticed it to, and his face became unreadable as he turned away.

"Sorry" he muttered"I didn't know..."

Steph stared at the ring, then pulled out the picture and looked at the man again.

"No" she whispered. "I didn't either...d' ya know who this is" She showed him the picture to with fleeting hopes.

He barely glanced at it. "By de looks, your husband n' child"

Steph stared at the picture, the obvious conclusion suddenly occurring to her.

"My... child" she breathed, unable to stop looking at the photo.

Remy looked at her again, obviously surprised. "You really did loose your mind den, didn't you"

Steph blinked. "I told ya..."

"I t'ought you were jokin'" he said, shrugging. "Well den, I really do 'pologize. You' still welcome t' camp at my place till y' find out how t' contact your family. I won't try nuthin. I swear" he added hastily, seeing the look on her face.

She sighed and looked at the picture, almost crying out in frustration but managing to hold back by biting her lip. Something felt odd in her throat for a minute and as she grunted "Thanks" she noticed a certain vibration in her words, but didn't pay too much attention.

"Great" said Remy, looking dizzy and leaning on the table slightly as he stared at his half-empty beer. "Ah, don' t'ink de drinks agree wit me t'night."

Steph just nodded, leaning on the booth as he sighed. "We can talk more t'morrow, we'll go t' my room den, wit dis damn curfew..." he trailed off and she was glad when he moved to the other side of the booth again, taking off his coat and rolling it up into a pillow as he laid down.

Steph drank a little more coffee, then put her feet up on the booth and slowly fell asleep, the picture still clutched tightly in her hand.


	5. Dreams and Reality

Sorry for the delay in chappie! My internet was being dumb again!

Anyway, I love the reviews, thank you so much! I'm glad you really like it, here's chappie five!

Ice Lynx

* * *

Steph could hear laughter and as she turned around she suddenly found herself in a bright, silver colored hall, facing a door to what looked like a scientist's lab. Someone was standing in the background, their face blurry as they idly played with a football. Steph looked to her left and found the blue man not two feet away from her, laughing and holding a little girl with hair like Steph's, her face hidden in the man's chest. 

"I fear Sam likes the other type of treat though," the blue man said, smiling at the tiny girl as he talked to Steph.

"Sam?" Steph repeated, looking around.

The man smiled and nodded. "Of course, she misses you."

"Why would she miss me? Who are you?" Steph said, her voice suddenly vibrating like it had done in the bar. The blue man and the person in back of him grunted, falling to the floor as Steph's head seemed to explode in pain.

Turning, she fled from the room and found herself running down a street. Up ahead of her she saw the bar sign she had seen the night before and she raced for it, but a spotlight hit her, blinding her.

"You're going back next Thursday?" a voice asked.

"Back where?" She blinked.

"But mutants aren't human," whispered the voice.

Steph stopped as the light went out and she found herself on a stage, a sea of young, semi-interested faces staring back at her. As she watched them she noticed that some of their faces were darkening, becoming black and losing all the other colors. Slowly, then faster the faces darkened until Steph heard a crack, like lightening, and when she looked up she saw the roof falling down.

Suddenly other faces replaced those of the students still waiting and watching her, faces that seemed to smile at her while looking grim at the same time.

Where a young girl had sat there was now a gruff-looking man with short hair, who held a small dark-skinned girl and a fairer little girl of about the same age. Another girl had suddenly gotten green eyes and brown hair that had white streaks in it, a young man with brown hair and icey blue eyes was sitting next to her with an arm around her. In back of them the blue man sat with the little girl he had been holding before, snuggling against his fur while holding onto the hand of a chocolate-cream colored woman with white hair. Beyond them more and more faces re-appeared, different than they had been before, some obviously mutants, others looking human, though Steph got the impression that they were also mutant.

The roof hit, and Steph tumbled into darkness, her head aching and arm throbbing as a small pale girl holding a doll tugged at her arm.

"The Blackbird doesn't bounce," she said nervously.

"Hey chere, wakey-wakey!" Remy said, grinning at her as Steph opened her eyes. Yawning she sat up and stretched, her coat falling off her partly as she sat up. Then she stopped as she remembered the strange dream she had had.

She sighed, guessing that the faces in the crowd were those of people she had known before...before the roof had fallen on her. Steph shuddered as the dream came back vividly, wondering if it was more memory. She just couldn't tell. But there _was_ a name.… Sam?

The blue man had been holding the child and indicating her as he said the name, was that her child? A girl named Sam? Steph was beginning to get very frustrated, if she had a daughter and a family she wanted to know about them, and she wanted to get back to them!

"What?" she said as Remy put his hand on her uninjured arm.

He smiled and pointed at the windows, where sunlight was softly filtering in. Steph noticed that he had replaced his sunglasses and was wearing his coat again.

"Curfew lifted a couple hours ago, but y' wouldn't wake," he said. "C'mon, we can go look at my place now, den see if we can find where you can get a way home."

Steph nodded and stood up, grimacing as her arm started to ache again. She looked at it, carefully noting as she gently squeezed it and coughed from the pain that ensued that the discomfort was coming from the upper part of her arm, right below the shoulder. From the feel she guessed it was broken but set correctly, she could find something to secure it later.

As she stood she noticed that most of the men in the bar were gone, only the bartender seemed awake and moving.

"Afternoon," he said sleepily, nodding at Steph.

"Yeah," she replied slowly. Seeing the coffee cup still on the table she pulled out her wallet and looked up. "How much...?" she said.

The bartender shook his head.

"Nothing at all miss, it was a mite stale anyway, in case you didn't notice," he said.

"Thanks," Steph mumbled.

"We'd better be goin' chere," Remy said and Steph nodded, following him out the door and onto the street.

There were more people out there, bustling about, looking hassled, many in rumpled clothing, also caught unprepared by the curfew. Steph held her broken arm close and kept her head down and coat tight, following Remy as he wound through the crowds and down streets. She had no idea where he was taking her, but she also had no idea where she was, and something about the way her voice had vibrated the night before told her flying wasn't the only special talent she had.

"Here we are," Remy said at last, going down a narrow alley and opening a door to reveal a small room. Steph looked around as she ducked her head and entered, seeing a couch, a television, small table, and kitchen area in one corner, another door slightly open to reveal a dingy bathroom. Plaster was peeling off the stained walls and the floor was granite, a ratty carpet pulled under the couch and television area.

Remy sighed as he came in, kicking some of the many food wrappers in the area aside.

"Ain't much t' look at, but no one looks for a livin' hole down here," he said, smiling. "An' it's better den a jail cell."

"Yer not from England are ya?" Steph asked. giving him a questioning look.

Remy shook his head, still smiling. "I'm from de United States, like you chere. I'm over here for a while though, de cops in America are lookin' for me back home."

Steph stared at him.

"Yer a criminal," she said, arching an eyebrow. "What did ya do?"

"What I still do," Remy laughed. "I'm a t'ief, de best life for a guy like me, though I still know how t' fit in wit de higher classes."

Steph blinked and wondered what she was going to accomplish with such a man helping her.

Remy seemed to read her mind as he chuckled.

"I don' have much of a record in England yet," he said, as if it would assure her.

"_Yet_," Steph repeated, sighing. "How do ya think I'll get back home?"

"Plane," Remy said, nodding and thinking as he turned on the television, flipping to the news and sitting on the couch. "I bet dat's de way you'll get back."

"But ya said there were no more planes," Steph said puzzledly, and Remy nodded.

"But _you_ were on de news," he said.

Steph gaped at him. "What?"

Remy nodded. "Still are. You go t' de hospital, dey may recognize you n' send ya back home." Steph shook her head and he shrugged. "Only one idea."

"I- ow," Steph grimaced as her arm twinged painfully.

Remy sat up quickly."You ok?"

"No," Steph said, teeth gritted. "I think I broke my arm."

Remy's eyebrows shot up.

"N' wit a head wound like dat," he said, shaking his head. "You definitely need t' go to a hospital, Steph. I ain't a doctor."

"But I heard they were all full," she said. Remy shrugged.

"Y' have t' try," he said. "I know one nearby. Den we can start lookin' for a way t' get you home."

"Not yet," she said. "Too tired, I need to sleep."

Remy smiled and got up off the couch. "Den we'll go t'morrow. Probably couldn't make it now before de curfew anyway. Get some sleep, chere. In de morning you can go get fixed up."

Steph nodded, sinking on the couch gratefully and using her coat for a blanket, she put her head on the pillow, still holding her arm tightly as she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

-

"Remy, why're ya doing this?" Steph asked the next day after she had woken and eaten some of the odd tasting food Remy had given her. "Why're ya helpin' a complete stranger?"

"Never could let a beautiful woman in need pass me by," he said, grinning and shrugging.

Steph's eyebrow shot up. "So yer helpin' me because I'm pretty?"

Remy laughed. "And 'cause maybe helpin' de big mutant spokes-gal will redeem me in de eyes of de police, whenever I get back home."

Steph rolled her eyes.

"So ya _are_ in this for yourself," she said.

"Only partially, chere," Remy said, shrugging. Then he pointed at the television. "See? Dey still lookin' for you, only _dey_ t'ink you're dead..."

Steph's eyes widened as she sat on the arm of the couch and watched the TV, looking at the debris filling the picture until the screen changed and five photographs appeared. Remy pointed to one, but Steph had already located her own face as he turned up the volume. A reporter's voice filled the small room.

"…Though civilian casualties remain high, rescuers are also continuing their search for the four missing politicians show here, and the young American mutant representative Steph Logan McCoy. It is believed that all five are possibly dead, but the search for them and the rest of the civilian population trapped by the wreckage of the bombings continues twenty four hours a day."

Remy turned off the television, nodded at Steph, then got up and walked to the door, opening it and bowing to her.

"After de famous mutie rep," he said, smiling.

Steph rolled her eyes again and walked out.

"I wish being famous told me who I was," she grumbled.


	6. Discovered

Remy shook his head as he looked down one street and turned the corner, leading Steph away from a bad smell that became worse the closer to the street he was avoiding they got. She saw police blocking the road and some people watching, trying to look at something down the lane.

"Remy, what's down there?" she asked, hurrying to walk beside the thief.

He shook his head. "Dat's de road t' de university."

Steph looked around, but she didn't recognize any of the buildings she had probably run past the night before. But then she wouldn't, she had been confused and running blindly, not stopping to remember landmarks.

"Rem," she said slowly and carefully, "do ya think I'll ever remember who I was?"

Remy looked at her carefully for a moment.

"Dunno," he said. "Has anyt'in come back t' you yet?"

Steph shrugged. "Sort of. I mean, almost, I can't…I saw a few faces in my dreams last night, but I couldn't tell who they were. I remembered a name though."

"Really?" Remy said, facing forward again.

She nodded, feeling better about talking about it, whether or not Remy really cared. It helped her organize the dream so she could make some sense of it.

"Yeah. Sam, I think...I think that's the name o' the baby in the picture. N' I saw the blue man again, n' a few others. I think I also remembered the faces, the kids in the lecture hall n' some o' the roof falling..." she trailed off and Remy nodded.

"I t'ink you'd remember dat firs'," he replied. "Come on, de hospital ain't far."

Remy groaned as the hospital came into view, large and looking packed as people walked in and out. Steph opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, and then she saw a small horde of men and women with microphones, cameras, and other equipment.

"The press?" she said.

Remy nodded, looking annoyed but walking forward and pushing his sunglasses more securely over his eyes.

"Dey are waitin' for de survivors t' come in," he said. "Dey might recognize you. Stay close t' me. If you wanna get through faster don' answer any questions."

Remy was right, the first few reporters seeing Steph looked momentarily stunned, then shouted and surged forward, alerting the others.

"Excuse me miss, are you Steph McCoy?" one shouted.

Steph froze for a moment, but Remy pushed her forward.

"We gotta get inside," he said, "de police won't let dem in, see? Dey already saw you too, dey might help."

Steph looked up and saw a few uniformed officers looking as shocked as the reporters, as they started to walk briskly towards her.

"Where have you been the last two nights?" one reporter shouted as Steph found microphones thrust in her face, more cameras were going off than she could count.

"Did you escape the wreckage by yourself?"

"What do you think about the crisis situation?"

"How badly injured are you?"

She bowed her head as Remy moved in front of her, plowing through the reporters roughly as the police reached them, also pushing their way through. Suddenly one reporter, looking for a picture, reached out and grabbed Steph's injured arm.

"Ow!" she yelped, but before she could react Remy had jumped forward and smashed the reporter in the face so that he let go of her and fell backwards.

Remy got red in the face as the reporters looked shocked, then started questioning again.

"Steph don't wanna talk t' any of you! Move aside!" he said.

Steph noted as he put a hand on her shoulder and pushed with his other arm that the still standing reporters were giving them a much wider berth. Then the police also reached the two mutants and made a small ring around them, giving them even more room to walk as they reached the doors and hurried inside.

"Thanks," she said to Remy shakily as he let go of her.

He smiled and shrugged as they made their way up to reception. "Dey should have known better."

The nurses looked hassled, but at least one also recognized Steph.

"Oh dear," she said, eyes widening. "You're that American girl, aren't you? What hap…no, that's none of my business, and I do not act like those awful paparazzi. Sign in here and the next available doctor will see you, though I'm afraid it may take some time, we're absolutely overrun."

"They all survivors?" Steph asked, looking around at the many people in bandages, some still waiting to be seen, others crying and some obviously waiting for news of their loved ones who had gone in with more serious injuries.

The nurse shook her head sadly. "We've received very few survivors from the actual bomb sites. Most were killed by the bombs or collapsing buildings, many didn't even make it here. These are the people who were outside the buildings or in other buildings around them. They were injured by being too close to where the explosions went off or the flying debris. I think you're the first conscious person from the university we've had."

Steph looked around again.

"Thank ya," she mumbled.

The nurse made a small noise of sympathy as Remy followed Steph to some of the last seats available.

He attempted a smile. "Well, at least you got here in one piece, chere."

Steph looked down.

"But no one else did," she said.

Remy shook his head. "If I hear de nurse right, dey did, just not walkin' yet."

Steph nodded and sighed.

"On the lighter note, you'll be all over the news f'r knocking out that reporter."

Remy nodded and chuckled. "Sure hope he don't wake up n' decide to press charges. I'd have t' kill him."

"You're not supposed to say that in a hospital," Steph said, and Remy nodded, still smiling.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I still would though."

Steph chuckled.

Hank sighed in his sleep, still on the couch that he hadn't moved from for two days. Suddenly two small hand beat on his chest as Sam gave an awkward jump.

"Mam!" she chirped.

Hank woke up slowly.

"What?" he said groggily.

Sam giggled and pointed at the TV.

"Mam!" she repeated.

Hank sat up so fast he had to catch her as she let out a surprised squeak. He couldn't believe his eyes. There was Steph, looking pale and in great pain, being jostled by reporters that surrounded her as she tried to go somewhere. She was avoiding all eye contact while a man in sunglasses and a brown coat walked ahead of her, trying to push the press aside.

Then a smiling woman came on the screen.

"It has been confirmed that Steph McCoy entered St. Peter's Hospital at approximately eleven twenty this morning, very much alive. Which must be a very big relief to her family and all those in the organization she founded to raise knowledge about the mutant phenomenon, Mutant Awareness. The exact extent of her injuries, including a serious-looking cut on her head, has not been released," she said. The camera shifted to an anchorman, who was smiling.

"And I heard, Sarah, that one of the reporters on the scene had an...incident, trying to get her picture," he said.

The woman appeared again, laughing softly. "Yes, one of the reporters apparently attempting to get a picture by grabbing an injured arm was met by a very angry guard trying to help Mrs. McCoy into the building, we have the footage here."

Again Steph was on the screen when suddenly a hand grabbed her right arm. She cried out and the brown-coated man in front of her immediately turned and punched the reporter in the face. Then the camera was jostled backwards as the lean-faced man turned back and put a protective arm around Steph's shoulders, moving her forward again.

"Makes you glad you don't work at the scene sometimes, huh?" The anchorman said, reappearing as he shuffled some papers.

The woman nodded and smiled.

"We'll be back after a short break," she said as an advertisement came on.

Hank gaped at the screen. _Steph is alive_, he thought. There was no mistaking that face, but it looked so damaged...smaller scrapes almost invisible compared to the wound on her head, but that didn't matter. Steph had been found!

Hank bounded over the back of the couch, holding Sam in one arm as he raced to find the others and share the news.


	7. A New Brother

Three hours after they had checked in a young male doctor walked into the waiting room, reading a chart.

"McCoy, Steph?" he called, hazel eyes looking up and searching the room. A few heads turned as Steph nodded and stood up, looking at the floor as she walked over to him.

The young man smiled at her. "My name is Doctor Phyllips, I'll be treating you. Who is this?" he asked, looking at Remy.

"Her brother," Remy grunted.

Steph didn't let her surprise show as he shook the doctor's hand and introduced himself.

"Brother," the doctor repeated, looking from Steph to Remy.

"He's adopted," Steph said and Dr. Phyllips nodded.

"Ah," he said. "Well, you're welcome to accompany Steph, Mr. Lebeau." He looked at his chart again and then chuckled. "And in case you wanted to know, I'll be treating that bloke you knocked a while ago next, he thinks you've broken his nose. I must say that was a nice left hook though."

"You watchin'?" Remy asked, eyebrow raised as they started to walk.

Dr. Phyllips nodded.

"My office overlooks the parking lot," he said as they got onto an elevator. Soon they got out on the third floor and walked down the hall into a small white room. Dr. Phyllips nodded at the examining table and Steph sat on it.

"Did you treat this with anything?" he asked, looking at her cut.

Steph blinked. "Um, no, I didn't touch it."

"Was it exposed to anything potentially hazardous?" Dr. Phyllips asked.

"I was a in a smoky bar for a while," she admitted.

Dr. Phyllips nodded.

"So it would seem," he said. "Luckily there's no sign of any infection, or else you'd probably be in some real serious trouble." He put something wet on it and wiped around, then put a bandage over it and examined the other cuts and scrapes on her face.

"No infections?" Steph said nervously.

"Not that I can see," Dr. Phyllips said.

"What 'bout your arm, chere?" Remy said, sitting on a seat.

"Like I'd forget that," Steph growled.

Dr. Phyllips' eyebrows lifted. "Arm?"

Steph gingerly took off her overcoat and pointed at her arm.

"I think I broke it," she said. "That's why Rem hit the reporter when he grabbed me. It hurts bad."

Dr. Phyllips began to feel it carefully. "Can you raise your arm above your head?" he asked. Steph tried and grimaced as it lifted slightly, then refused to go any further and fell back. "We'll need some X rays just to be sure, but it probably is broken."

Steph nodded. "Could I get an aspirin or something?" she asked. "The thing's been killing me since I woke up."

"Are you allergic to anything?" he asked. "I need to know before I can administer any medication."

Steph looked at him for a moment, wondering how to answer.

"Not dat she knows," Remy said smoothly, and she nodded.

Dr. Phyllips nodded slowly and looked from her to Remy before going into a cabinet and taking out some pills, giving two to Steph with a glass of water.

"Swallow those, and come with me, we'll get those X-rays done quickly," he said as Steph took the pills and got up to follow him. Remy also stood up but Dr. Phyllips shook his head. "You'll need to stay here until we come back," he said.

Remy scowled but sat back down, moving the chair over to the windows and looking at the parking lot below.

"Hello, St. Peter's Hospital, how many I help you?"

"I need to contact someone," Hank said, bouncing Sam on his hip. "Steph Logan McCoy?"

"Let me check, please hold on one moment," the nurse replied. A moment later she spoke again. "Steph McCoy? Yes, she's still here, but unfortunately she's having an X-ray done at the moment, can I take a message to her doctor to give to her?"

Hank's heart sunk as he shook his head at Scott, Jubilee, Kitty, and Bobby, who were waiting anxiously behind him.

"No," Hank said miserably. "Is there no way I can contact her now? It's most urgent!"

"I understand sir," the nurse said, sounding hassled. "But she's getting an X-ray…." Hank could not stop the impatient snort escaping him. The nurse apologized tersely and then hung up, leaving Hank staring at the phone a minute, then up at the others.

"She hung up," he said.

Jubilee made a disgusted face.

"Well we should call Kurt and make sure he knows…he can go find her at the hospital and call us back," Bobby said reasonably.

Hank nodded, head hung, and handed the phone to someone, not looking up as he hugged Sam to him closer.

"Mam?" she said. "Da, mam aba hee."

"She says Steph ain't here," Ruhko said, tongue sticking out of her mouth sideways as she tried to open a box of Twinkies. Giving up on the delicate approach, her claws appeared with a soft _snikt_ and she tore into the box and half of the Twinkies inside, white fluff and yellow cake flying. Chuckling, she began to eat.

Scott rubbed his temples. "We know Steph isn't here," he said heavily.

Ruhko looked up at him, shrugged, and went back to her 'kill'.

"We'll try again in a few minutes," Jubilee said.

Sam saw Ruhko and made a face, being a neat child and resenting unnecessary messes. "Abba na na," she said severely.

Ruhko looked up at her and growled. "I'm not bad, ya little rat!" she retorted.

The baby turned away and hid her face in Hank's chest.

"Ruhko, act your age," Bobby said. "Leave Sam alone."

Ruhko made a face at him, then went back to her food.

"Da boop a glok," said Sam.

"I agree," Hank said, stroking her back. "I agree wholeheartedly."


	8. A Call for Mrs McCoy

Sorry about no clear scene shifts, wont let me do them that well for some reason sigh.

Anyway, I'll work on it, and thank you so much for the reviews! I love getting them, they make me happy!

Also I would have posted sooner but I haven't had a chance to get online in days, so 'pologies for that.

Again, thank you my wonderful reviewers!

Ice Lynx

* * *

"I have some good news and some bad news, in the opposite order," Dr. Phyllips said, entering the room where Steph now sat with Remy. "Bad news; you did indeed break your arm. The good news being it is a clean break, already straight and will heal quickly with no need for a cast."

"Then what will I need?" Steph asked.

"This." Dr. Phyllips pulled out a sling. "You will need to wear this for four to six weeks until your arm heals enough that you can go without it. I would be especially careful right now, no more reporters wrenching it around, got it?" He smiled but Steph frowned, not thinking it funny at all, and Remy's expression remained neutral as he leaned back in his seat.

"So dat's it?" he asked.

"That, and it appears you sustained a concussion when the building fell on you," the doctor said. "Frankly I surprised you still have your memory intact, that you remember your brother at all." Something in his voice when he said 'brother' told both Steph and Remy that he was not completely convinced by the lie.

A small noise sounded, and Dr. Phyllips looked down at his beeper, then walked over to a phone on the counter and picked it up, listening for a moment. "Yes," he said. "She's here..." He looked over at Steph and handed her the phone." Apparently your family in America has found you," he said.

Steph took the phone carefully.

"My family?" she repeated, completely taken aback that they even existed, even more so that would find her.

Remy was sitting straight up, arching an eyebrow as she put the phone up her ear.

"Hello?"

Hank almost collapsed in relief when he heard Steph's nervous voice answer him.

"Stephanie," he said, trembling slightly. "Oh Stephanie, I feared…that doesn't matter. How are you?" Sam's already keen ears perked up at the sound of her mother's voice as well, and she reached for the phone.

"A…alright," replied Steph.

She looked over at Remy for help as the man on the other end started talking rapidly about different people. She didn't recognize any of the names except for Sam, but at the same time they all felt familiar to her. Remy just shook his head and shrugged.

"Stephanie," the man said again, as if he could not believe it. "We were so worried! But you must be feeling awful?"

"Um," said Steph.

"Are you alright?" the man asked.

Steph thought for a moment about telling him she had no idea who she was talking to, and had her mouth open to say it, when he started to speak again.

"No, of course you're not, a building collapsing on you? And the reports say hardly anyone else got out alive…." He choked and Steph suddenly knew that whoever he was, he was someone who'd do anything for her, and she realized that she felt the same about him. An unforgettable love was embedded in his voice and her heart.

Now she was confused, she could ask him his name and completely confuse the entire situation further, or she could listen to him and try to remember.

"And...and you?" she asked.

He paused.

"I've been worried sick," he whispered. "I…it doesn't matter, nothing does except you getting back home, do you know if you can soon?"

Steph closed her eyes as her head bowed, this guy wasn't giving her any more hints at all.

"No," she said truthfully. "No idea, I don't even know how..." _Seeing as I have no clue where home is_, she thought bitterly.

The man exhaled slowly. "But you're alright. Stephanie..."

Hank couldn't say anything else, his throat completely choked up as a tear fell down his cheek. Sam looked at the dark streak and reached up carefully, touching the wet fur with one finger and then bringing it down so she could sniff it. Unable to determine exactly what it was she reached up again and patted his cheek, and even as another tear of relief fell he chuckled.

"Sam misses you," he said. Something was wrong with Steph, but at the moment he was too happy to hear her voice to register it. "She saw your face on the news first, that's how we knew you were at Saint Peter's, and if Ruhko's translations are accurate she thinks you are hiding in the television." He chuckled again.

"Ruhko?"

"Yes, by the stars, she's taken her duties as baby translator to an even higher level," Hank said, shaking his head and still smiling. "But that's not to be unexpected, she's a willful child and will not tolerate anyone second-guessing what she thinks Samantha is saying."

"Sam," Steph said again in a whisper. "How…how is Sam doin'?"

The man chuckled. "Still immensely curious in all the little things, a bit more adventurous than usual, most likely because she hasn't been out doors in days. She did find a butterfly on a windowsill the other day though. She thought it was a fairy, like one of the creatures from that book you were reading to her."

"Yeah?" Steph said, thinking about the child.

"Ahem, Bobby is telling me to give you a message," the man said, pausing for a moment. "Ah, yes, of course, he is telling me to inform you to stay put and he will hijack a plane and come pick you up." He laughed and Steph's eyebrows shot up. "Oh dear, no, he says he's serious. But Scott says Kurt is on his way…you should stay in the hospital anyway and wait for him."

"Sure..." Steph said. _Kurt? Who is Kurt?_

"Tell…tell him I'll find a way," Steph said. "No…. I'll get a, a plane or something. I'll get back, um, finish reading to Sam, yeah."

"Yes," the man said, his voice much less strained then it had been when he first greeted her. "Stephanie, we all miss you."

"Yeah," Steph said in a tiny voice. "I miss ya too." _I miss knowing your name and what ya look like, I miss being able to recognize the names of people that are so desperate to find me they'd break laws and risk their necks. I miss knowing the people who love m; I miss knowing Sam..._

"I love you, my sweet Stephanie, with all my heart," he said. "We'll get you back. They cannot keep you there forever, we'll get you home in no time, you wait and see if I don't."

"I…" Steph said. Then she looked up and saw the doctor and Remy both staring hard at her.

"Yes, you'll be back soon," he said. "Or my name isn't Henry McCoy. Only hold on, my sweet Stephanie."

"Yeah," Steph said weakly. _Henry? No_…. Steph paused as a thought coming to her suddenly. _He has another name..._

"Henry..." she said.

"Yes?" he asked gently.

"I'll…I'll be back home…." She stopped, seeing Dr. Phyllips look pointedly at his watch. "I have to go, Henry…."

"We'll get you soon, don't worry," he said again. "I love you Steph."

"Yeah," she said and hesitated, seemingly powerless to say anything else, but equally unable to hang up and lose the only connection to her home. Finally Henry, thinking she had left already, hung up, leaving her quite alone.


	9. To Get Home

"Henry McCoy..." Steph said, lowering the phone slowly and staring blankly into space. _Not Henry_, she kept screaming inside her head. _Another name, something, someone. He's someone important! _But try as she could the only thing she received for her efforts was a headache.

"Yes?" Dr. Phyllips asked, looking at his clipboard now and not paying much more attention to her or Remy, who took the phone gently and hung it up himself.

"What?" Steph asked, looking up.

Dr. Phyllips looked at her. "What is it about Mr. McCoy?"

"Ya know him?" Steph said, eyes widening.

Dr. Phyllips looked at her strangely.

"No, you said his name," he said slowly.

Steph closed her eyes.

"Are you alright?" He frowned.

"Yeah, I, um, yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Jus'…jus' a lot on my mind, that's all."

Dr. Phyllips nodded and sighed, lowering the clipboard.

"Well it's not surprising," he said. "After all, you did somehow manage to escape a collapsed building with only some cuts and a broken arm, you're very lucky."

"Sure," Steph said bitterly.

"I know there's some guilt when you've survived something like this," Dr. Phyllips said gently. "But the bombings were not your fault, and neither were the results. You were lucky. Now I'd suggest you find someone who can pull some strings and get you back home, Miss McCoy, your family must be anxious to see you again, you and your brother."

"Brother?" Steph replied, frowning.

Remy cleared his throat. "Yeah chere, 'member me?"

Dr. Phyllips opened his mouth as Steph cursed, unable to stop herself as she jumped up.

"&! I mean…yeah, ha. Guess I was thinking 'bout home too much huh, Remy? Whoops," she said, then closed her eyes. "Anyway, we have to get going soon, and find a way home, yeah, me and Remy..." she trailed off. "Um, thanks again." Then she hurried out the door, Remy right behind her as Dr. Phyllips was left, slightly confused, behind in the room.

"Smooth," Remy said as they hurried down the stairs, through the lobby, and out the back doors to avoid the reporters.

"Sorry," Steph said crossly. "It was your idea to lie anyway."

Remy chuckled. "True, got me in. We need t' keep dat goin' though, if we're gonna stick t'gether till we get home. You can't forget me again."

Steph looked at her sling straps and pulled them tighter in annoyance.

"I apologized," she said. "N' maybe you'll tell me before ya spring out another lie again, _brother_."

"Maybe," Remy said, winking at her. "Maybe not. Maybe I like seein' you get nervous."

"Shut up," she growled.

"So, where we goin'?" he asked.

Steph looked around and walked up to a man going down the street.

"Excuse me," she said. The man gave her a funny look but stopped. "Do you know how to contact the government?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. McCoy," the woman said as Steph stomped her foot, growling. "But there are _no_ planes leaving or arriving in England until further notice."

"I'm not gonna get trapped here forever!" Steph cried. "I've got a home in America, I've got a husband, and kids, and sisters and brothers and a wholedamn house full of relatives who need me back!"

The woman sighed. "Until the mutants who assassinated the Prime Minister are found there will not be any aircraft activity," she said again.

Steph was so frustrated she slammed the phone back, and Remy chuckled as she glared at the small device.

"Dat's not gonna fly you back home petite," he said.

Steph glared at him.

"Wanna make somethin' of it?" she growled.

Remy shook his head, then brightened. "Least you 'membered more o' who you are."

"What're ya talking about?" Steph looked at him.

"Dat you have all de family you listed off," Remy said. "T' de woman at de government."

"Oh that? That was a load of crap," she said. "Not memories."

Remy rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Well, ok den," he said, shrugging.

Steph shook her head and paced around the small room that she felt trapped in, that she could easily escape but most likely get caught by the police and taken in for questioning, as she was a mutant and the curfew had started again. Frustrated she kicked an empty beer can across the room.

"Where could they be!" She threw another can at Remy, who caught it easily. "How are we going to find them?"

"Dem? Your fam'ly?" he asked.

"No, the assassins," she replied. "If we find 'em they'll let us go back to America."

"Wait, you're gonna catch dese criminals, who could be anywhere in de UN Underground n' are definitely dangerous killers, jus' so you can get back home, even though you can't 'member it?" Remy said, standing up and shaking his head. "You're nuts."

Steph pulled on her coat. "&# right! N' I hate this bloody curfew. Come on, we may be able t' get t' that Underground ya mentioned earlier before the police catch us." -

"No, Steph, dis ain't…."

"Shh," Steph said, silencing Remy as they hurried down the dark streets. A light rain was beginning to fall, and even as Steph jogged she could hear the wind blowing harder and saw the raindrops slowly start to thicken and become larger. Soon it was a complete downpour, soaking her and Remy quite thoroughly.

"Where is the Underground?" she asked, stopping for a moment.

Remy shook his head. "De closest part?"

Steph shrugged and nodded.

Sighing Remy looked around, then back at her.

"You're de strangest woman I ever met," he said. "Losin' your mem'ry den fighting an entire religion of murderers t' get back t' somet'in you can't 'member anyway..."

"Religion?" Steph said, eyes narrowing. "Are these Member people a cult or what?"

"Couldn't tell you," he said, shaking his head. "C'mon, I t'ink I know where we'd get a good start." With that he took off, Steph right on his heels.

-

Steph's jaw dropped in amazement as Remy lead her into the very same bar she had wandered into a few nights ago, entering calmly and shaking his coat dry as the door swung shut behind them.

"Still running 'round after curfew?" the bartender said, looking up. Then he saw Steph and smiled. "Well, hullo miss, can I get you anything?"

"Remy?" Steph said, looking at her friend, who shook his head.

"Nah, only some information," he said, walking up to the bar and sitting down. Steph followed suit and suddenly the bartender looked a bit more suspicious.

"What kinda of information would you be wanting?" he asked.

"Information on the Members," Steph said. The bartender dropped the glass he had been cleaning and it shattered as the few men in the bar looked up, their eyes glinting. Remy looked around, but Steph kept her gaze even on the bartender, who was suddenly looking flustered.

"You're very lucky miss, very lucky indeed, that the wrong chaps weren't in here tonight to hear you say that," he said, eyes narrowing.

"So dey've been in here?" Remy said, arching an eyebrow.

"Of course they were in here!" the bartender said in a low voice. "The very night you stumbled in miss, the man sitting in the seat your friend now rests on. He was one of the Member chaps, that's why he looked away when this bloke ran through and brought the police in." Remy looked surprised.

"Really?" he said.

"So have they been in any more than that?" Steph asked.

"Off n' on," the bartender said, rolling his shoulders as he got another glass and started to clean it, ignoring the crunching glass under his feet. "If there's more then one they'll sit in that corner, right over there, and whisper the night away, till they leave. Always coming in after curfew is set, and leaving before it's lifted. Sort of like you two. If you want to catch them, stay here a few nights; they'll show. If you're lucky you'll catch their leader maybe."

"Leader?" Steph said, sitting up straight. "What's he like?"

"That bloke? Bloody werewolf, I'd say." The bartended shook his head. "But I don't turn mutants like you two away, and I'm not stupid enough to forbid the Members from coming in, long as they don't cause me too much trouble."

"Fine then, we'll stay," Steph said resolutely, smacking her hand on the counter.

The bartender shrugged and moved away from them, talking briefly to another man along the counter about goods in the back, then moved off and started to sweep the glass on the floor away.

Steph looked over at Remy, who chuckled.

"See chere? Dis is why I told you t' never trust no one here, no matter how nice dey are."

-

Kurt walked into Saint Peter's with his image inducer carefully hidden up a sleeve of his jacket, Kitty behind him as he strode up to the reception desk. A nurse greeted him.

"Can I help you sir?" she asked.

"Yes," Kurt said. "I am looking for my daughter, I vos told she vould be here."

"Who is she?" the nurse asked, getting out a list of names.

"Steph, Steph McCoy."

"You're not the only chap looking for her," a nurse nearby said. "The most persistent man kept calling until he got through to her…I don't know why. But dear…she's already left the hospital with her brother."

"Brother?" Kitty asked, scowling. "Bobby can't be here…."

Kurt shook his head.

"Are you sure she is not here?" he asked, throat tightening.

"'Fraid not," the nurse said.

"Vell…thank you anyvay," Kurt said, tipping his hat to the two nurses, who nodded back.

"Now what are we gonna do?" Kitty asked as they walked back out the front doors.

"Find Steph," Kurt said. "And Bobby."

"But Bobby's home," Kitty argued. "He called me just a few minutes ago, and he can't ice slide that fast. Besides, he'd have just taken Steph home right away."

"Vell…then ve vill ask who Steph vos vith and vy she called him her brother," Kurt said, shrugging even though the thoughts bothered him as well. "Ven ve find her."

"I'll call the others," Kitty said, taking out her cell phone. "They'll need to know."

-

"You lost her!" Scott said tersely as he paced in front of Hank.

"No Scott," he said wearily, crouching on the floor with his head in his hands. "I merely forgot to ask where Stephanie was regrouping. I assumed she would remain at the hospital…."

"But she hasn't!" Scott said, shaking his head. "Why she hasn't, I don't know. But still..."

"Scott, calm down," Bobby said quietly from his chair near the phone. "Steph won't keep us waiting, she'll call and tell us where she is…."

"What if she can't?" Scott demanded. "If there are no phones? Or if she gets into trouble?"

Hank fell backwards on his butt with a soft thump and leaned against the back of the couch, looking at the ceiling.

"At least it is determined that she is fine for the moment," he said. "We know she wasn't…we know she's alright, we now only have to wait until she contacts us or the news reaches us another way on where she is taking refuge and when she'll be returning."

"I agree with Hank," Jubilee said. "We just have to wait it out."

Scott's lips pursed but he said nothing, sitting down on an armchair and glaring at the phone as if to frighten it into ringing and bring news of Steph's whereabouts. But the call never came.


	10. Missing Friends, Finding Enemies

I love you, reviewers, I love you so much, thnx!

Ice Lynx-

* * *

"So Remy, where do ya come from?" Steph asked drowsily.

"You dat bored, chere?" he asked, smiling.

"Yup," she said, sighing. "Answer the question or face my irritable wrath."

Remy whistled.

"Don' want dat," he said. "I grew up in New Orleans. Tough place, but a good spot t' learn 'bout t'ievin."

Steph nodded, pushing her beer bottle across the table from one hand to another.

"I imagine I grew up... inna home," she said thoughtfully.

Remy smiled and listened as she mused, using a mix of her personality, looks, and wild guessing to create a life she may have had. "Orphanage, 'cause my parents hated mutants. With lots o' mutie kids runnin' 'round n' breaking things. I was one of the older orphans before I ran away, fed up with it all, n' decided that the thing t' do was get married t' some guy n' have a girl, and maybe got divorced, shared custody o' Sam."

"Why divorced?" Remy asked, eyebrow raising.

Steph shrugged.

"D' ya know how many marriages fail these days?" she asked, reading the paper she held and pointing to some numbers in a column. "N' this is England, imagine what us trashy Americans are like back home. Wild guess anyway, but I suppose being a 'Mrs.' means I'm still married?"

"Or dat you never got rid of de name," Remy said cheerfully, shrugging.

"Whatever," Steph growled, just as the bar door opened and a tall man with tangled, dirty blond hair and large dark eyes walked through. He had a wild look about him, and was so obviously mutant just in the way he walked in and sniffed, as if testing the air, that it was hardly a surprise when he raised one hand to run some claws through his mane.

"Hey, haven't seen him 'round before," Remy said quietly.

Steph glanced at the newcomer and grinned, holding a fist up to her hand and faking a coughing fit.

"Cough Incomin' cough, cough Fuzzy Man! Cough," she said. The man obviously heard her and turned to glare as Steph looked down and spoke quickly.

"Hack cough choke die," she said louder. "Help me I'm passing out from lack of oxygen, someone call a doctor, I need an air tank or something." Remy laughed.

"Steph!" The man growled, eyes widening in surprise when he saw her.

She stopped fooling around immediately, sitting straight up as the man strode over. "What the # are yeh doin' here!"

Steph stared at him. "Ya know who I am, Fuzzy?"

"I told yeh not t' call me that, or I'd gut yeh," he growled. "Bad enough you people calling me Creed…."

"Creed?" Steph said. The name, like other things, both sounded somewhat familiar yet completely foreign to her.

"Yeah," Creed growled, bushy eyebrows raising slightly. "What're yeh doin' here? Ain't the team lookin' for yeh? With all these attacks goin' on…."

"Wait! Team? What're ya talkin' about?" Steph said, good mood slipping away. Who was this guy?

Creed gave her an even stranger look, then stared at Remy suspiciously.

"Recruiting?" he guessed. "Get stuck over here?"

"Look, either tell me who the & you are n' how ya know me, or as the English say, bugger off!" Steph snapped.

"If you knew her before she won't 'member you," Remy said, leaning on the table and giving Creed an unfriendly look. "An' de chere ain't so patient, so I'd answer quick."

"Whoa," Creed said, head turning slightly as he stared at Steph. "Yeh lost yer memory?"

"So?" Steph grumbled, hitting her fifth beer across the table. "Wanna make something of it, Fuzzy?"

Creed slapped his forehead.

"How did yeh remember that & name? How did yeh make it up again?" he growled. "#, yeh really don't remember?"

"Don't make me hurt ya f'r saying that again," Steph growled back.

"It's me kid, Sabertooth, the guy who's saved your skinny & a couple more times then I should 'a," Creed said, groaning. "How am I ever gonna make Blue believe I didn't make yeh lose your mind?"

"He's talkin' 'bout stuff I should know but don't again," Steph informed Remy moodily.

"Who's he?" Creed asked suspiciously, sniffing the air around Remy, who was not very happy about having the large man so close to him.

"Who're you?" Steph replied.

Suddenly Creed chuckled.

"Now that's the old Steph. Ever since yeh married that blue lump yeh stopped being as much like Logan," he said, grinning and revealing sharp fangs. "Guess that was just 'cause yeh hung 'round Beast 'n his # pansy way 'a talkin' too much."

"That's it, sit down you n' tell me everythin' ya know 'bout me," Steph said, punching an empty bottle.

"Why should I?" Creed's eyes narrowed.

"'Cause if ya don't I'll make ya," she replied.

"One time deal, you buy me drinks," Creed said.

Steph took out the money she had left and tossed it at him.

"Get drunk, fine, just start talking," she said.

(2 Nights Later)

Steph growled and pushed the beer bottle aside, looking at Remy as he finished his third.

"I thought they came here often," she said, looking around the bar in disgust.

Remy shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "De man said off an' on," he replied casually. "Dis mus' be an off time."

"Oh shut up," Steph growled, making him chuckle. He opened his mouth to say something else when the bar door flew open and a police officer was literally thrown through the entryway. Steph and Remy looked up, shocked, as the officer grunted, his lean face pale and sweating, eyes wide with shock and pain as his hands tried to load his gun. Through the doorway stalked a man, bigger than anyone else in the bar, whose heavy facial hair, lengthened face, and large pointed ears made him vaguely resemble a wolf as he hunched through the doorway, walking right past the officer without a second glance.

Creed, who had been napping on a chair nearby, twitched slightly, the only sign that he was awake. He'd decided to remain with Steph and Remy 'Cause yer the only way I'm gettin' outta this damn country.' Though he was willing enough to talk about Steph's past, or what he knew of it, Creed was very reluctant to tell them anything about himself and his prior association with Steph and the other X Men, or why he was in England himself.

The wolf man sat down at a booth as a few men, also clearly mutants, came in after him. All of a sudden most of the men in the bar found that facing the police on the streets would be loads of fun, getting up and leaving as the bartender looked over at the newcomers crossly.

"You need anything?" he asked carefully.

The wolf man nodded at a tall brown haired man, and he put a finger on the policeman's forehead. Suddenly the human screamed out in pain, making Steph sit up straight in her chair and Remy inhale sharply as the officer toppled to the floor, dead before he hit it. The rest of the men in the bar left.

"Yeah," the wolf man said, his voice barely more than a growl. "Clean that up n' git me a drink."

The bartender shook his head.

"Sorry, I can get you all the free drinks you need, but that mess is your own," he said, nodding at the dead man. Though he was working to keep his face calm and neutral the bartender was clearly shaking as another mutant with black hair snapped his fingers and the body disappeared completely. The bartender brought the mutants large bottles of beer, then excused himself and walked out of the room into the back, leaving Steph, Remy, and Creed alone in the room with the other mutants.

"So what do we have here? Three newcomers?" the wolf man called across the room to Steph, who had her head turned away from him, while Remy gazed back and Creed stretched as though just waking up from his sleep.

"What?" he said, looking over his shoulder at the Members. "Gutter trash came in while I was out?"

The wolf man laughed. "Good to see you too Sabertooth."

"Sabertooth," Steph murmured, rolling her eyes.

"A woman? No…mutie, like the boys," the brown haired man said, his husky voice oddly high pitched.

"'Course she's a mutie!" The wolf man roared, laughing. "Why else would she be in this bar? No _human_ woman would ever come in here."

Steph turned and looked at him, arching an eyebrow as she summed up the group of five.

"I'm not impressed," she said, turning her head again.

Suddenly the wolf man was in front of her, stinking strongly of sewage and filth as he leaned down close, grabbing her chin and making her look him in the eyes. He burst out laughing, his foul breath sweeping over Steph's face as Remy stood up quickly, one hand reaching towards his pocket, though a quick glance from Steph made him slowly sink back down.

"Well lookit here," the wolf man boomed, rearing up to full height and looking down at Steph, who gazed back, unafraid. "It's the speaker from America. The mutie girl who wants nothing but peace between us and the filthy humans."

Steph didn't bat an eyelash.

"I wouldn't be calling anyone filthy if I was walking around smelling and looking like trash myself," she said.

The man laughed.

"Weren't so smart-mouthed in front 'a those little human spawn were you?" he asked. "Preaching about looks, you looked weak enough up there on that stage, floating around like a bubble."

"You were there?" Steph's eyes narrowed.

"I was," the wolf man replied, grinning at her. "Setting bombs. They worked beautifully didn't they? Though I didn't get the great view you had. I was out of there long before the things went off."

"Some display of power," she retorted, not letting the remarks getting to her. "Setting off a bomb, like a human."

The man suddenly looked angry.

"Like a human?" he replied. "At least I don't fool myself with talk of peace and all that bull. I didn't think anyone would survive an old building falling on them though, guess that redeems you somewhat, eh?"

Steph growled.

"I don't need to be redeemed of anything," she said. "N' I'm tough to kill, so watch it, bub."

The man chuckled and the other Members also laughed.

"Tough gal, wotcha bet she die's quicker'n the 'uman?" asked a short mutant with gray hair and a fat face, yellow eyes gleaming in the dim light.

"Bring it on frog-face," Steph snarled, standing up quickly.

"The runt'd be proud." Creed looked sideways at Remy.

"Steph, I don't t'ink dis is a good idea…" the Cajun whispered.

"Steph, I don't t'ink I can handle de mean muties," the tall brown-haired mutant mimicked in an even higher pitched voice than he already had.

Remy's eyes narrowed and he pulled out a deck of playing cards, casually shuffling them from hand to hand.

"T' whatever happens next, I'm game," he said.

Creed yawned. "This' boring." He grabbed another beer and drank half of it in one gulp.

Steph shook her head at him then looked at the wolf man.

"Ya do know that right now yer th' only thing standin' between me n' a ride home?"

The man smiled. "I don't care little miss. And there isn't much you can do about it either."

"I could turn ya inta the feds n' get myself on a plane outta here," she said, smiling.

"I'd like to see you try," he laughed and turned to walk away.

Swiftly Steph stuck out her foot and the unprepared mutant tripped, crashing forward into a table and breaking it as he roared out in surprise. Creed jumped out of the way with a startled snarl as the wolf man sprang to his feet, spinning around to face Steph, who was looking at him unconcernedly.

"See puppy…I don't scare easy, so threats ain't gonna work," she said, shrugging. "Now ya can sit yer & down again n' wait 'till I call the police like a good little boy, or they can take ya in unconscious or dead, it's really yer choice."

The man's face had turned bright red and he snarled at her.

"Maybe they'll just find _you_ dead tomorrow," he replied, and faster than the eye could follow his fist came out and hit Steph in the stomach, sending her flying above the table and into the wall.

Remy cried out in anger as the other Members jumped up, suddenly one of the playing cards in his hand glowed bright pink as he flung it at them, blowing them backwards.

"Cover yer ears!" Steph yelled at him as the wolf man jumped up on the booth and grabbed her by the throat.

"What?" Remy said, getting ready to grab the wolf man when Creed roughly grabbed him and started to carry him out of the room, into the back where the bartender had escaped to.

"Let go a me!" Remy bellowed, struggling.

Creed pushed him in front. "Your brain'll be blown t' bits like the others if ya don't put in some distance between your ears n' her scream, cover 'em now!" he snapped.

Steph choked slightly as her hands beat at the wolf man's arms, but to no avail.

"You've pushed your luck too far missy," he hissed. Steph's vision started to swarm as the lack of oxygen started to get to her, but then the wolf man made the mistake of throwing her down to the floor roughly, where his men grabbed her. Gasping for breath and wincing as her broken arm was jostled she looked up at him with a glare.

"And your luck's run out," she snapped, her words vibrating through the air. The wolf man and the men holding her gasped and the frog faced man tripped, falling flat on his face as Steph closed her eyes and screamed.

"YER LUCK RAN OUT WHEN YA STOLE MY MEMORIES!" she bellowed, her mutation knocking everyone around her flat on their backs. She watched as the wolf man's eyes reeled into the back of his head, and then he toppled, crashing to the floor and breaking a few chairs.

Steph knelt, panting slightly as she clutched her blazing arm to her and looked around worriedly. Where was Remy? And Creed? Had she hit them too? Struggling to her feet she looked around, heart jumping to her throat.

Creed appeared in the back door, stumbling slightly as he dragged the unconscious Remy behind him.

Steph gasped and hurried over. "Oh crap- did I kill 'im?."

Creed sat down heavily and shook his head.

"No luck, just out cold. They're probably all toast." He nodded at the others and Steph blinked.

"As long as one's alive t' tell the story, I couldn't care less," she said.

"Short fight," he remarked, belching suddenly. "Short n' sweet. Yer one crazy kid, talking to the leader o' the Members like that, n' tripping him. Crazy like the runt, but without the ability to heal, so not so smart huh?"

"I wouldn't know," Steph said sourly. "T' judge my behavior would need more examples, n' I can't remember any o' them."

"Then take my word if ya ever trusted it," Creed grunted. "Ya wouldn't though."

"Sure, whatever, how'd ya know these thugs anyway?" Steph demanded.

"My business, not yours," Creed growled. "I ain't in cahoots with 'em though. Let's go alert the blue coats."


	11. Return Home

Sorry took me so long to update!

Icey

* * *

13

"…And in a startling new twist it appears that the leader of the mutant terrorist group was caught today by none other than the missing Stephanie McCoy, with the help of two fellow mutants, a man known as Remy Lebeau and another man who would only give the name Sabertooth," the anchor woman blinked but continued as pictures of the three came up on television, then footage of the wolf man being lead into a building was shown. "Wolf, aka Vikar Knite, was found unconscious in a small city pub near London, having attacked McCoy and her friends. He and four other members of the terrorist organization were apprehended soon afterwards, two were dead.

London officials have reported that the men have confessed to the bombings and they will await trial in a maximum security prison. A few airlines have already been opening again, though it will be some time before they are open to the public. Of course McCoy, Lebeau, and 'Sabertooth' will be on one of the first flights to return to their homes here in the United States, though the exact dates and times of the flights are not being disclosed."

Hank, Scott, Kitty, and Bobby stared at the screen while Sam babbled happily to Ruhko on the floor.

"She's coming home," Jubilee said, letting out a long breath. "Thank god, she's like, coming home!"

"She fought _him!_" Bobby said, looking at the screen. "She's gone mental…."

Hank was finding it hard to say anything as relief flooded through him. Laughing suddenly, he picked Sam up and tossed her in the air which made her squeal with delight, then caught her and held her close as she sighed happily, playfully tugging at his fur.

"Your mother's coming home," he said to her softly, beaming.

Sam lifted her head and smiled, then put it back on his shoulder.

"Mam," she said.

Hank closed his eyes.

"Yes, Mam," he said.

"So how're we payin' f'r this again?" Creed asked as he sat in a first-class seat, stretched out and sipping a beer.

Steph blinked.

"It's a thank 'you'," she said, rubbing the back of her neck. "I'd ride coach if they could tell me exactly where I'm supposed to go once I get over there."

"Don' worry, Sabertooth'll show you," Remy said, looking at Creed through the corner of his eye. "Right? Dat was de deal."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Creed said, leaning back and making himself more comfortable.

"Perfect," muttered Steph, sighing and looking out the window.

"Chere?" Remy asked, looking over the top of his glasses.

"Nuthin'," she replied, leaning against the window, clutching the soda she had bought in the airport in a death grip and closing her eyes as the airplane took off. She had the strangest feeling, as to her memory's keeping she was traveling to someplace new and different than the week and a half she could remember, but at the same time, she was going home to a family she had known for over a decade.

Confused with herself Steph sighed and slowly drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

"I can't do this," she said, looking at the huge ahead of them.

"What?" Remy and Creed looked over at her in surprise.

Steph blinked, then gestured towards the building with her good hand.

"I can't go up there, there's no way I could," she said, looking at them seriously.

"Why?" Remy asked, bewildered.

"Oh please, ya can't be _that_ thick Rem," Steph replied, rolling her eyes.

"I disagree, he can an' he is," Creed said. They ignored him.

"They're not expecting me," Steph said flatly.

"Yeah," Remy said. "Dey are worried sick 'bout you chere, dey tol' you so when 'Onrie called you."

"But they ain't expecting _me_!" Steph cried. "They're expecting _me_, but not!"

"Whoa, now I'm confused," Creed said. "Run that again?"

"They're expecting the Steph McCoy they knew before a lecture hall fell on top of me. I don't know any of them, not even what apparently is my own daughter. My husband could be a toad for all I now n' what the &# am I supposed to tell them! 'Um, I'm sorry I don't remember any of you but I had to come anyway because one of our enemies told me my past and that you'd be here!"

"Dat's exactly what you say petite," Remy said, shrugging.

Steph gave him a look of utter disbelief. "Are. You. _Mental!_" she said.

"Can I answer that?" Creed asked, smirking.

"What?" Remy said, giving her the look right back.

"I'm not going," Steph said, shaking her head and crossing his arms resolutely.

Creed looked up across the lawn, and saw a few of the X Men walking out of the front doors and sitting on the steps, talking.

"Ya sure ya won't go?" he asked.

"Do I look sure, Fuzzy?" Steph snapped.

Creed shrugged.

"Alright then," he said, grabbing Steph by the back of her coat before she could do anything but give a startled yelp as he tossed her out of the cover of the trees.

She hit the ground on her butt and rolled, somehow managing to land in a crouching position as she stopped.

"Hey…." Remy started, but Creed shook his head.

"Fall back," he growled. "Let the team find 'er n' fix 'er up."

His ploy had worked. Hearing the yelp and seeing Steph flying out of the woods had made all the X Men look up. Jubilee immediately cried her name and sprinted over.

Steph looked up, a look of absolute horror on her face as the smaller woman reached her and grabbed her, pulling her into a bone-breaking hug.

"Ouch!" she grunted, eyes bulging as Bobby and Scott arrived, staring openmouthed at her before Bobby laughed and clasped her on the uninjured shoulder.

"Steph, you're back!" he said.

"Um, yeah," Steph muttered, glaring at the trees.

"We thought ya wouldn't be back for like, ages," Jubilee said excitedly, hugging her friend again.

"Um," Steph said.

Bobby chuckled. "So you go over to England to give a lecture, have a building fall in on you, capture one of the most wanted mutants in Europe and the United States, and come back home without telling us to say 'um'? You'd better go see Hank. He's been a nutcase ever since we heard you were gonna get to come back, he doesn't even know yet."

"Hank?" Steph said, wracking her brains. She would have thought having these people mob her would have brought _something_ back, but it didn't.

"Of course," Scott said. "Hank's been sick with worry. Come on."

They lead Steph up to the Mansion before she could reply, going in through the front door, which shut securely behind her.

"Was dat a good idea?" Remy asked, looking over at Creed, who shrugged.

"Better there then runnin' round with a thief," he said. "You can visit her any time, don't worry."

Remy looked up at the mansion.

"I t'ink I'll wait here," he said. "De chere might need a f'miliar face later."

"Suit yourself," Creed growled. "I'm outta here." With that he turned and walked away, leaving Remy waiting and watching the mansion, wondering what was happening to Steph at the moment.

"Steph!" Hank cried, leaping up over the couch, his face a mixture of shock and joy.

"Um, Hank," Steph said, placing the name with the voice on the phone as he pulled her into a tight embrace, not letting go for a while.

Finally he backed up a step and looked at her arm. "What happened, are you alright?" he asked, then examined her slowly healing head.

"I'm alright," she said.

"What happened? Why didn't you call?" he asked.

Steph's mouth opened, then closed.

"Um," she said.

"Never mind," Hank replied, shaking his head. "Thou art safe now, my sweet Stephanie, you're home."

"Yeah," Steph said.

Hank smiled. "Sam's missed you terribly."

"Can I…." Steph hesitated. "Can I see her?"

Hank smiled. "Of course," he said, for the briefest instant looking like he suspected something was amiss, but then he shook his head and took her hand, leading her up to an upstairs room.

Steph slowly opened the door, seeing the small bed towards the side of the room she walked over and saw Sam sleeping in it, orange hair falling gently over her face.

Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed at the small child, and a moment later the babe opened her eyes, blinking for a moment and then smiling up at her mother, stretching her hands out to be held.

"Mam!" she murmured drowsily as Hank beamed.

Steph, however, was horror-struck. She had forgotten _this_? This baby girl, _her_ baby girl, her husband, her home... The sense of loss she had felt at the beginning of the incidents was nothing compared to what she felt now, when she was shown what had been taken away from her.

She choked, tried to hide it as a cough but failed, then gasped as tears started to pour down her face. Turning from the cradle she fell to her knees, crying uncontrollably into her hands as Hank, thunderstruck, knelt down beside her. Sam, confused, whimpered quietly and looked through the bars, watching as her father put his arms around her mother.

"Stephanie? What's the matter, what's happened?" Hank asked, worried at the strange behavior. Bobby and Jubilee, who had followed Steph and Hank up while Scott went to inform the others, came into the room, also confused.

"What happened?" Jubilee asked.

Hank shook his head, the worry in his eyes so vivid that Bobby knelt in front of Steph.

"Steph, what's up?" he asked. "Steph, you ok?"

Steph looked up, breathing ragged and tears still flowing down her cheeks.

"Who _are_ you?" she cried.

Bobby's mouth opened and then shut again.

"What d' you mean?" he managed after a moment.

Steph's hands fell to her knees.

"Who are you people?" she asked again, looking over at Hank and then at Jubilee. "Who is that? What is this place? Who am I?"

"Steph," Hank said gently, not understanding as he reached for her again.

"Don't!" Steph cried, moving away. "Jus'…jus' answer me! Who am I?"

"You're…you're Steph," Bobby said, baffled. "You're my sister, married to Hank. You're Sam's mother…what's going on?"

Steph's eyes closed again and she turned, pushing past the men and Jubilee and racing down the hall just as an older student came out of his room.

"Steph!" he said happily, but she ran by him, hand covering her mouth as she wrenched open the front door and ran out as fast as she could.

Bobby and Hank raced after her, stopping as they watched her run to the woods and disappear.

"What was that?" Bobby said, looking up at Hank.

"Den it didn't go dat well?" said a voice behind them.

The X Men turned to see Remy struggling out of the bushes by the patio, rubbing his head as he looked to where Steph had run.

"What the…who are _you_?" Bobby said, taking a step backwards with his head reeling. "_What_ is going on here!"

"You're the man who helped Stephanie," Hank said, recognizing the eyes and face.

Remy nodded.

"Remy Lebeau," he said. "Met de chere in England, t'ought I'd help her out. You her husband den?"

Hank nodded.

"Hank McCoy," he said. "Do you know what happened to Stephanie?"

Remy shook his head as he rolled his shoulders back.

"Sabertooth tossed her t' you, you took her up t' dis place, n' I followed," he said. "Den I was 'bout t' knock when Steph raced out n' pushed me off de porch, running t' de trees."

"But why?" Hank asked.

"Cause," Remy replied. "She can't 'member nuthin' 'bout dis place, or any of you."

"What?" Bobby said, completely lost.

Remy shook his head.

"De petite don' know who she is, de head wound los' her mem'ry."


	12. What She Forgot

I'm so sorry I didn't post sooner, but my computer's been going insane and I couldn't get online! Please don't hold it against me!

Icey 

15 

"So she doesn't remember anything," Scott said staring at the floor. "No wonder she wasn't behaving normally." Hank said nothing, holding Sam in his arms as he stared forward into space. Remy sipped a soda, leaning on the kitchen counter as Bobby and Jubilee sat or stood around the room, silently taking in the new information.

"She…remembers nothing at all?" Hank said slowly, still trying to grasp the idea.

Remy shook his head, then thought for a moment.

"Dunno, de petite foun' her wallet, had a picture o' you an' dis lil' girl," he said, looking at Sam and smiling, who was watching him closely. "I always t'ought she might've been hidin' t'ings from me, but I don' know."

"Well where'd she go now?" Bobby demanded. Remy shrugged again and he scowled at the Cajun.

"Maybe," Jubilee said slowly, "She's coming back, but needs time to think things over."

"How do you know?" Scott asked. "She could be running further away every minute. I think it would be best if we went to find her."

"She's not leaving," Jubilee said, shaking her head, then nodding at the window.

The others turned to look. A tall, dark shape was visible among the trees. It was obviously Steph, and as she sank down to the ground, still visible, Hank hung his head.

"Perhaps…" he said. "Perhaps in time she will remember…she must..." he trailed off and shook his head. "She must."

Later that night Hank was sitting on a porch swing near the front door, absently thinking about what was happening to him and his family when suddenly Steph, looking tired and nervous cautiously made her way over, hands in her pockets and kicking a pebble in front of her. Hank straightened when he saw her approach, watching as she stopped before the porch steps and looked at the seat next to him.

"D'ya mind?" she asked.

"No, no, of course not," he said, moving over slightly as she walked over and sat on the swing leaning on the chain and looking out at the clear night, carefully having no contact with Hank, who respected her unspoken wish and did not move closer towards her.

"Big place," she remarked, aware of how stupid she sounded but unwilling to say what was really on her mind quite so soon.

Hank noticed her faraway look and nodded. "The mansion is a large building," he said. "And full of many people."

"N' all mutants," Steph said. "Everyone here's a mutant, but maybe I shouldn't be so surprised?" She looked over at Hank, who shrugged.

"Even I am surprised when I think of the numbers, at times," he said.

"What's it like?" Steph said suddenly. "The people here? Who…what's my family like?"

Hank looked down, then out in front of him as the swing slowly rocked back in forth, the cool night air smelling like freshly cut grass and the moon bright enough to see the edge of the forest clearly.

"We're all a family here," he said. "There are people who are not as close, of course, but we all live together so we learn to deal with our problems. And there are many couples that are changing more than I'm able to keep up with, I have only ever seriously been interested in a few."

"Like who?" Steph asked curiously.

"Ours, for one," he said, smiling at her. "Ororo and Kurt, Rogue and Robert, but mainly you and I, and Sam of course..." he trailed off and Steph touched his hand carefully.

"I can't stand it," she whispered. "I feel somethin', I feel like I know all o' this, but it's not there, ya know?"

Hank nodded.

"It will come back, in time," he said.

"But now…. I'm married, I didn't know ya 'cept I had this picture in my wallet n' this ring," she showed the photograph and ring to Hank, who obviously remembered the photograph and knew the ring well. She looked away hopelessly. "I feel like I belong here but I've got no freakin' idea what this place is or who the people are, I'd do anythin' f'r my memories back but they're not…." She broke off, leaning over and putting her head in her hands.

Hank gently rubbed her back and stroked her hair. "Everything will work out eventually," he said. "You should not worry, sweet Stephanie, and soon the Professor will return, perhaps he can help you."

"The Professor?" Steph said. Hank nodded.

"The founder of this mansion, of the X Men, and it was he who found and recruited almost all of us. He's a wonderful man," Hank said.

Steph couldn't have really cared less who this Professor was, at the moment she was too preoccupied with trying to remember why being around Hank made her feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, especially when he held her like he was doing now.

"So what're you like?" she asked, almost automatically leaning her head on his shoulder. A flurry of flashes in her mind of her doing the exact same thing in many different locations and times seemed to be triggered by the action, and comforted her enough to forget that she didn't know him.

"You used to refer to me as your 'teddy bear'," Hank chuckled. "After we married you began to call me 'the guy always locked in his labs with too many Twinkies'."

Steph laughed.

"Twinkies," she repeated. "Somehow a blue guy like you does remind me o' a Twinkie addict."

Hank nodded.

"And you know we have a daughter, Samantha, and though I have proposed the idea to you that by the time her mutation manifests she may gain fur in her appearance you have always been most determined that she will keep her hair, because you're as proud of her hair as you are of your own." He chuckled again as Steph twiddled some of her orange locks in her fingers. The truth was the pride had stayed with her, she loved her colorful mane, which contrasted with her skin so sharply.

"N' that blue eyed guy?" she asked.

"Bobby Drake," Hank said. "Married to your sister and thus your brother."

"I have a sister? Was it that small girl?" asked Steph.

Hank suddenly looked saddened, and his eyes became downcast as he spoke.

"No, that was Jubilee," he said softly.

"Then who's my sister? What's she like?" Steph prodded.

"She was a beautiful, kind girl," Hank said, quieter still. "You two were very close."

"Were…." Steph stopped. "She…she's…" she faltered.

"She died in an accident, years ago," Hank said flatly. "Along with your parents...and others."

Steph could think of nothing to say, and noticed that Hank held her a bit closer, his voice choking slightly.

"Your dialect has gone back to resembling Logan's," Hank noted after a moment.

"Yeah…Creed told me that," Steph replied. "What…what was he like?"

"Logan?" Hank mused. "A difficult man to categorize. He would be best described as the alpha wolf in a pack that he brought together. He was sent to retrieve you when you were younger, and in doing so found your younger sister Ruhko, an abandoned infant at the time. By the time he brought both of you back to the mansion, where he was already very protective of your sister Rogue, it was clear that he clearly had appointed himself the protector and guardian of all three of you. Later he adopted you, asking Ororo to pretend to be his wife so the adoption could go through even though she was getting closer to, and eventually married Kurt, your long-time friend and now your step father. After Rogue married her boyfriend Bobby you and I realized our true feelings for each other and soon followed suit."

"So it's kinda grown," Steph smiled. "Who was the other midget, the one with Ruhko earlier?"

"That would be Little Steph," Hank said, sighing. "She is your sister by blood, not adopted by Logan or anyone else in the mansion. You have another younger sister also, Logan retrieved and cared for her after her father died, as he was an old friend of his."

"Where is she then?" Steph asked, looking up at Hank.

He sighed. "After your parents died Kurt moved away, and she accompanied him." 

Steph had not been expecting this answer, and wondered what this other girl was like.

"Does she ever come back to visit?" she asked softly.

"Quiet often," Hank assured her quickly. "She is very fond of you, and of Ruhko in particular."

"Hey," Jubilee said, stepping out of the doorway and looking surprised, then giggly when she saw Hank and Steph. "What's up? You like, remember the lovebirds you always were?"

Steph suddenly realized where she was, in the arms of a stranger, and even the feeling of familiarity in her heart and the ring on her finger could not make it any less nerve wracking. Impulsively she jerked out of Hank's arms, then watched as he tried to hide the hurt look on his face and moved back over to his side of the swing.

"No," Steph said.

Hank realized that Steph had no idea who she was talking to and hastily introduced her.

"Stephanie, this is Jubilation Lee, usually bears the name Jubilee," he said as the young woman made a face. "She was one of your close friends."

"Only 'cause Kitty wasn't around. I was your maid of honor at your wedding," Jubilee said, sticking out her tongue.

Steph smiled. "Really?"

Jubilee made a face at her then laughed.

"Well, I'll butt out and let you two continue on with whatever," she said, grinning and running back through the door.

"Who's Kitty?" Steph asked Hank. "N' where's Kurt?"

"Katherine Rasputin is another close friend," Hank said. "After…after the accident Kurt and Kitty were so devastated they left the X Men and formed a similar group named Excalibur over in England. They searched for you after the bombings, but missed you. I'd be surprised if they haven't already been told you made it back here safely."

Steph arched an eyebrow at Hank.

"Girls named Jubilee n' Kitty? Best friends?" she said.

Hank chuckled and nodded.

"Good lord, was I insane?"

"You have often asked yourself the same question," he smiled.

Steph nodded, then sighed. "I jus' wanna remember."

Hank patted her arm sympathetically. 

"It will happen," he said.


	13. Remembering

Sorry for the bad setup of this page and stuff, but my computer's really messed up. Anyhoo, this is the last chapter, yay! I finished it, just in time too! I'm going on a trip, so it motivated me to finish posting this. Anyhow, I'm really glad all of you liked it, hopefull this wraps everything up sufficiently and then I can start posting the sequals and stuff when I get back. Yay.!

Ice Lynx

16 

That night Steph stayed in a guest room, which Hank showed her. He also brought some of her clothes in and left them for her to change into, then excused himself quickly. Steph could sense he was still struggling with the loss of her memory almost as much as she was.

Slowly she settled into the bed, turning out the light and staring at the ceiling for a long time, thinking about how she had reached this point, her long discussion with Hank about her life before this, about the MA, then her thoughts turned to Hank himself. She definitely liked the guy, he was sweet and careful of her feelings as well as his own, it was easy to see how someone could fall in love with him.

Without her fully realizing it, Steph drifted off into a deep slumber.

(Dream) 

"No! Steph, watch it!" a black-haired man shoved Steph away just as a truck plowed into him, sending him through the air. Grunting he hit the ground and rolled over before getting up slowly and woozily.

Steph hurried to his side and had him lean on her while he blinked and shook his head.

"Good goin' dad," she said, rolling her eyes. "Ya'd get taken outta the fight f'r a bit if you pulled that stunt in a real situation."

Logan growled. "Me? Yer the one in the middle o' the road darlin'."

"Well…yer the one who got hit," Steph replied, sticking her tongue out at him as suddenly a bunch of enemies jumped up around them and started hacking at them with swords and clubs and other weapons.

Logan snorted at Steph. "And yer the one who's hung over," he said. "Ya get into my beer again, kid?"

Steph's head ached and she rubbed it. "I had a reason…. Kurt, turn off the holograms, they're really annoyin'…besides, I can't get drunk once inna while?" 

Logan shook his head. "Not on my beer, or my watch."

"Well one day I'll be off both," Steph said defiantly as the holograms turned off. She walked towards the door. "I've gotta get goin'."

"Seein' Blue?" Logan smirked.

"I'm helpin' him with n' experiment!" Steph said defensively.

"One day kid…. Yer gonna find him on his knee in front o' ya, with a little ring box held out in his hand." Logan laughed.

"Yeah right." Steph snorted. "N' ya couldn't be happier could ya old man?"

Suddenly in front of Steph there was Hank; in the very position Logan had described, and then she found herself in a beautiful dress, a wedding in progress with happy faces everywhere, sounds of people laughing and eating and drinking and talking mingled as one with the slow music.

The silence was the loudest noise Steph had ever had to endure, the emotions of her surviving teammates filling the War Room with a heavy feeling of loss and disbelief.

She couldn't take it any more, hitting the man who tried to get in her way she turned and fled the room. Almost her whole family was gone, what else was she supposed to do?

A few flashes of black clothes and a memorial service, of Hank getting closer to her than ever before.

Steph watched as the plane took off, the small child she had seen in her previous dream sitting next to her, still holding the doll.

"How long until we get there?" she asked . Steph shook her head, then tucked the girl in under a blanket.

"Don't worry, we'll get there soon," she assured her charge. The girl nodded and slowly drifted off to sleep.

As an explosion went off right behind them, echoed by larger and more powerful explosions from all over the place. Steph was thrown backwards, a brief glimpse of her bidding Hank, Jubilee, Bobby, and Scott farewell as she got into a car flashing before her eyes.

(End Dream)

Steph woke suddenly as she hit the floor, having tumbled out of bed while thrashing in her sleep, her body drenched in a cold sweat and the sheets tangled around her. Stunned, she began to cry, her body shaking as she grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest.

"Stephanie?" Hank asked softly, knocking on the door. "Is everything alright? I heard you gasping in your sleep…." He stopped in surprise as Steph flung open the door and grabbed his arms.

"Hank…. I remembered," she sobbed, the tears increasing in their flow.

"Remembered what?" Hank asked gently, still taken aback by her appearance.

"When…when everyone left," Steph whispered. "N' our weddin', a lil' bit o' dad..."

Hank nodded and pulled her close.

"Don't worry, sweet Stephanie," he said, as she snuggled into the crook of his neck. "Do not fear, I'm yet here for you." 

"I can still feel the ache," Steph said quietly. "For them..."

Hank hugged her tighter, his own eyes closing. "I know," he said softly. Then he looked at his watch. "Oh my stars and garters…you'd better get back to sleep…you'll be exhausted tomorrow morning."

"No!" Steph cried as he began to move away.

Hank stopped immediately and she hung onto him. "I don't wanna be alone t'night…can I, can I stay with ya?"

Hank nodded.

"Of course," he said, leading her back to their old room. As Steph crawled into the bed beside him and lay down with her head and arm on his chest, his arms still protectively wrapped around her, she suddenly felt safer than she had since she woke up without a memory or clue of who she was.

Here, in Hank's arms, was where she found her refuge.

(A Month Later) 

Steph watched Remy's training with amusement, Sam on her knee babbling about the Cajun's fighting tactics against Hank as the two battled it out in the Danger Room below them.

"Wha!' Remy cried as Hank grabbed his Bo staff and swung him around, a large grin on his face.

"Don't let go, young Remy!" he advised as Remy clung to the end of the staff for dear life.

"Hank," Steph said, laughing as she spoke into the intercom. "Maybe you should let him down…carefully!" She started to laugh harder as Hank suddenly tripped, trying to listen to her, and loosened his grip on the staff.

"Whoa!" Remy shouted as he sailed through the air and hit the trunk of a tree at the edge of the conjured meadow's boundaries. Toppling to the ground he stayed still for a split second before sitting up and rubbing his head. "Oof. Dat hurt."

"Are you alright?" Hank asked.

Remy nodded slowly. "Yeah, I t'ink so."

Hank chuckled.

"Good, then we can continue," he said, charging forward on all fours.

Remy rolled out of the way a split second before Hank hit him and stuck out his foot, sending Hank crashing into the same tree he had hit, then quickly jumped up and grabbed Hank in a headlock.

"Give up," he said, grinning through gritted teeth as Hank gasped. 

Then the blue man also grinned.

"Perhaps some day in the future," he replied, standing up and then throwing himself at the ground, crushing Remy beneath him as he rolled. Leaping to his feet, he grabbed Remy's bo staff, and thumped it against its owner's head. Remy swayed for a moment, then toppled over in a heap.

Hank sighed and stood with his hands on his hips, listening to Sam who had gasped and then started giggling again.

"Uh, Hank? I think he's down this time," Steph said, and Hank smiled at her.

"Sweet Stephanie, last time we near ended our match young Lebeau leapt to life miraculously and gave me a sound beating before I inevitably won," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I have no wish to revisit the status he left me in any time soon."

"Fine then," Steph laughed. "Hey Rem, ya don't get up in three seconds the match is over and Hank wins."

Hank smiled as Steph counted down, then turned off the simulation. "Alright Hank, now go make sure you didn't 'visit lasting damage to his person'."

Hank laughed again and bent over Remy, rolling him over just in time to hear the Cajun murmur, "Please stop beatin' me wit my own staff," as his head rolled backwards.

"He will recover," Hank announced.

- Hank, please finish taking care of Remy, and Steph, Sabertooth's here; he needs to talk to you, - Xavier said in the X Men's head.

"Creed?" Steph said, looking at Hank, who shrugged.

"I don't know, but perhaps I'd better go check Remy, just to be sure..." he said.

"Yeah," Steph said. "Alright, Hank, please be careful with the Cajun…he's sensitive."

"Ha," Remy gasped.

"And definitely not completely passed out," Steph laughed, holding Sam and going down to give Hank a kiss on the cheek before flying out of the door as Hank picked Remy up.

Up in the kitchen Steph walked in and found Bobby sitting at the island with Creed parked in the back doorway and looking as surly as ever. He grunted when Steph came in.

"Hey, skirt, how's the rememberin' comin'?" he asked.

"Alright," Steph said. "Still have big ol' gapes in a few spots, but it's getting' better. Harder to tell what I can't recall too, but all the major stuff's back."

Creed nodded and grunted again, and Steph looked down at Sam, who was staring at Creed.

"What's up?" she asked.

"He won't tell me," Bobby grumbled.

"I told ya, I was waitin' for Steph," Creed replied.

"Well?" Steph asked.

"I never told ya why I was in England," Creed said. "Truth is, I don't really know, an' I don't know why I'm leavin' now, but I've heard rumors."

"You're leaving? To where?" Steph asked.

"What rumors?" Bobby asked.

"Australia, maybe," Creed said. "An' I ain't talkin' 'bout the rumors, they may be nuthin' but I've gotta be sure."

"Why?" both X Men asked.

"I heard there's someone powerful down there," Creed said, shaking his head. "Some mutie that a few o' the undergrounds have been murmuring about, but I ain't sayin' no more, it's not for you to hear. I just wanted ya to know I won't be around for awhile."

Steph gave him an odd look, then sighed. "Have it your way, if ya need any help we're here, not that you want to hear that. You want a beer?" she asked out of habit.

Sabertooth nodded and she set Sam down, grinning absently as the little girl crawled over and pulled on Bobby's pant legs until he picked her up.

She grabbed a beer and turned back, holding it out to him. For a moment they both held on to the bottle. Steph looked up at him and then flung her arms around his neck.

Creed was so surprised he nearly dropped the beer, but then he awkwardly looked down. "What are ya doin?" he said as Steph backed up, grinning at him.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But really... you've been such a great friend through all this, helping me an' Rem out, and watchin' out for the kids and the rest o' us."

"It…I…." Creed looked uncharacteristically discomfited, obviously not used to thanks.

"I'm sorry," Steph said again, blushing now. "But really, you are a good friend, n' if ya ever need anything (not that you'd ever admit it) buildings don't get up an' run away. Don't disappear either."

Creed nodded and turned and walked out of the door hurriedly.

Steph shook her head as she felt Bobby wrap his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh Bobby, I just made a complete fool outta myself," she sighed. "Thanking Creed…whatever."

"Hey," he said. "Looks like you need your teddy bear to bring back your common sense, huh?" "I really am stupid sometimes," she said, nodding.

"Yeah, but we love ya anyway," Bobby replied.

Steph snorted and hit his chest with a backhand. "You're such an…."

"Careful now, we have young ears around," Bobby said, nodding at the little girl he held in his other arm.

"Mam?" said Sam, eyes wide.

Steph nodded and reached out her hands, taking her daughter and hugging her close. Though obviously confused by what was going on Sam shrugged and patted her mother's cheeks.

"Bah righ dada," she said.

Steph nodded.

"Ah, your mama's lost it, gaining slowly," she said. "But your right, I think we should go see yer papa, he's nice and snuggly, huh?"

Sam smiled and nodded, wrapping her small arms around Steph's neck and Bobby's arm.

Bobby looked at it. "Apparently I'm to escort you," he said.

"Thanks," Steph said.

"Not really a choice, I'm afraid," Bobby replied. "Your kid's holding me so tight I'm losing circulation to my hand."

Steph laughed and kissed her daughter's forehead. "She's making sure someone's looking after me, wait till ya see what she does when Hank's around and I'm upset."

"I've seen, the kid really can drag the guy across the room, huh?" Bobby laughed.

Steph did too. "Oh yeah."

The End 


End file.
